This might be Arne Slot’s first trip to Wembley but the Liverpool boss has been unflappable in the face of several new experiences since he replaced Jurgen Klopp in the summer. This was never going to be any different.
Under his stewardship, Liverpool won seven out of seven to start the Champions League group phase. The Reds only crashed out of Europe on penalties when Darwin Nunez and Curtis Jones saw their kicks saved.
Generally, Liverpool has improved compared to last season, despite the big changes behind the scenes. Slot, though he has not managed at this high level before, made himself at home immediately.
From his first press conference, the former Feyenoord coach looked at ease. He has handled the difficult questions well and more importantly, has picked up good results.
Slot has lost two games of real significance — Nottingham Forest at Anfield and then PSG — and during his press conference ahead of facing Newcastle this weekend, you would never have known that he was about to manage in a final. The 46-year-old has not only never coached at Wembley before, but he has never even been there to visit.
Before his first trip, however, Slot was relaxed. He brushed off questions about Virgil van Dijk’s future and sought to instil more confidence in Jarell Quansah, who is expected to fill in for the injured Trent Alexander-Arnold at right-back.
(Image: Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
“I don’t along with that,” he insisted when asked if this was a bigger game for Newcastle. “If you reach a final, it is always a big moment for them and also for us. We have two cups but you cannot take it for granted in this country. We don’t play a final every year.”
The Liverpool head coach was treading the line between showing that this was a normal enough fixture for his side to play its own game, without playing down its importance to the point of arrogance or disrespect. Slot made clear that it was important, without it being the biggest day for Liverpool in decades.
For Newcastle, who has not won a domestic trophy since 1955, the feeling is very different. Under the Saudi regime, there is a desperation to take the next step and end the silverware drought — and the players are not hiding that.
“I think it is massive for the club’s history and we want to be part of it,” Bruno Guimaraes said earlier this week. “We know we are going to play against one of the best teams.
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“Hopefully we can go to Wembley and get the title [League Cup]. We have seen people — doubters — but we are focusing on ourselves.
“Missing Anthony Gordon, Lewis Hall and Sven Botman is not good for us, but we have players who can play well. We showed [against West Ham] we have a strong squad. I believe that we can win. In a final, anything can happen. I believe our fans can make a difference for us.”
Most tellingly, he added: For us, it is like the World Cup.”
In the same way that Real Madrid was very calm heading into the Champions League final against a rather more excited Liverpool in 2022, essentially because it is so used to such big occasions, the Reds are playing the senior role here.
That guarantees nothing, of course, and could mean that Newcastle’s players put in the performance of their lives. The bottom line is, though, that Liverpool will get to this point again under Slot — his and his team’s assurance can also offer a key edge here.
