Arne Slot dismissed the notion that Liverpool’s defeat in the Carabao Cup final against Newcastle was due to fatigue, stating that it had “nothing to do with running” during his post-match press conference. Instead, he pointed to his team’s inability to win enough duels as the main factor in their loss.
However, it is precisely in these physical battles where the effects of fatigue have been most evident. Over the past two weeks, Liverpool has posted three of their five lowest duel success rates of the entire season. The issue was most noticeable in their away match against Paris Saint-Germain, where Liverpool won only 32.5 percent of duels—a record low in their history in the Champions League.
In the second leg at Anfield and in the Carabao Cup final against Newcastle at Wembley, their duel success rate was 42.7 percent, significantly below their season average of over 50 percent in the first half of the campaign. This decline can be traced back even further in the Premier League. Prior to the new year, Liverpool had won more than 50 percent of their duels in nine out of 18 matches. Since then, they’ve only managed to do so in two out of 11 games. While Slot may not acknowledge it, there’s little doubt that his side has lost some of their previously sharp physical edge.
