Arne Slot has said more games make his players physically stronger after booking an extra fixture in their packed schedule by thrashing Tottenham in their EFL Cup semi-final.
In their 37th game in under six months, the Premier League leaders won 4-0 at Anfield to seal a 4-1 aggregate victory and set up a final against Newcastle at Wembley Stadium on March 16.
“Some people think you get tired but, as long as you manage it well, players will get stronger by playing a lot of games,” Slot said, identifying two key factors in his near-perfect start to his tenure in his first season in charge.
“I believe that the more games you play, the physically stronger you become. If you play more often together, you know better what is expected.
“The first time I told [the players] how to bring the ball out from the back against [different types of] press, they were maybe like ‘OK, this should be done’. But the more times you face them, the more it becomes natural.”
‘It’s not normal to reach a final…even for these players. They have played many finals but it still should be special to go to a final’
Arne Slot says Liverpool will ‘never take a final for granted’
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— ITV Football (@itvfootball) February 6, 2025
Gakpo ‘special’, says Slot
Fellow Dutchman Cody Gakpo levelled the tie on aggregate to ensure he has scored in seven succesive appearances at Anfield.
Slot praised the Netherlands international, who is the outright top scorer in this season’s EFL Cup with five goals, and his fellow forwards including Luis Diaz, Diogo Jota, Darwin Nunez, Federico Chiesa and Mohamed Salah.
“We have to make sure they get in those positions a lot, and therefore you have to run a lot,” Slot said after Salah set up Gakpo’s first-time strike. “That’s what they are all doing
“In the second half of last season, Cody was special. During Euro [2024], he was special for Holland. It doesn’t just come falling out of the sky. It’s something he was doing before.”
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🎙@gabrielclarke05 #ITVFootball | #CarabaoCup | #LIVTOT pic.twitter.com/gH9aZ1Owe8
— ITV Football (@itvfootball) February 6, 2025
Liverpool fixtures
Liverpool are six points clear of second-placed Arsenal with a game in hand in the Premier League and into the Champions League round of 16.
They will make one of the longest trips in English football when they visit second-tier Plymouth Argyle in the FA Cup on Sunday (3pm GMT).
The Reds are back in league action when they make their rescheduled visit to arch-rivals Everton on Wednesday (7.30pm).
