'Going to be' - Liverpool boss Arne Slot sends early Newcastle United message ahead of Carabao Cup final

Arne Slot toasted reaching his first Liverpool final but admitted: I’m already thinking about Plymouth Argyle.

The Carabao Cup holders booked their place at Wembley for successive seasons by thrashing Tottenham Hotspur in the semi-final second leg at Anfield. Liverpool went into the game trailing 1-0 on aggregate after the first clash in North London.

But they well and truly put Spurs to the sword in the return encounter as the home side earned a 4-0 triumph. Cody Gakpo levelled the tie before half-time and then Arne Slot’s troops stepped on the gas in the second period. Mo Salah fired Liverpool in front from the penalty spot before Dominik Szoboszlai and Virgil van Dijk made the success more emphatic.

Slot’s verdict

The Reds, who top the Premier League by six points, will face sixth-placed Newcastle United in the final on Sunday 16 March. They played out a thrilling 3-3 draw at St James’ Park in December and will meet in the league later this month. The Magpies also cruised to a 4-0 aggregate win over Arsenal in the last four.

But Liverpool’s immediate focus turns to a mammoth trip to Plymouth in the FA Cup fourth round on Sunday, which Slot is now planning for. Asked how it felt to reach his first final since succeeding Jurgen Klopp in the Anfield hot seat, the Dutchman said: “Pleasant! Although if you know me a little bit, [you know] my thoughts are more on Sunday already than thinking about a final in a month. Our performance today was something that pleased me most. Reaching a final should always be special, even for this club. This club is used to playing finals, but still then we are working very hard every single day to try to improve players – and the players want to improve themselves every single day – but we are also in this business to play finals.

“We already know how difficult the final is going to be because we faced Newcastle already and they were very impressive yesterday as well. But, [there are] many games to be played before this final and this is where our focus should be at.”

‘Have to take the challenge’

Liverpool have won the Carabao Cup a record 10 times in their history. They’re aiming to stretch that feat to 11 against Newcastle. While the competition is bottom of the Reds’ priority list at the start of each season, Slot insisted he wanted to claim the honours when they started against West Ham in September.

He added: “It has been – most of the times – games where players who have not played that much have played a lot of minutes and I think that has been important for us as well because every time we need one of these players, they are ready to play as well. I think if you come to this country, you know the history of the FA Cup and the League Cup.

“I know as well, I think I say the correct thing, that the FA Cup is a bit higher [in prestige] than the League Cup but still it is a cup and a trophy to win and it is the one we won last season, and I think if you win a trophy in the season before you always have to take the challenge on trying to win it again.”