Slot shifts focus to league title push after 'tough week'

Arne Slot was defiant after his Liverpool side ended a miserable week with defeat by Newcastle United in the League Cup final on March 16, switching the focus to the team's English Premier League title charge.

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The painful 2-1 loss at Wembley comes four days after the Reds exited the Champions League on penalties against Paris Saint-Germain, giving a sense of anticlimax even though they are almost certain to be crowned league champions.

Newcastle, picking up their first domestic trophy in 70 years, outmuscled Liverpool in London, winning courtesy of goals from Dan Burn and Alexander Isak.

Federico Chiesa pulled one back in added time but it was too little, too late for the team defending the trophy they won in 2024 against Chelsea.

Slot was asked after the match how he would ensure the defeat would not have a knock-on effect for the rest of the season.

Liverpool, hot favourites to match Manchester United's record of 20 English top-flight titles, are 12 points clear of second-placed Arsenal at the top of the Premier League with just nine matches to go.