Liverpool goalkeeper Kelleher: Failure to defend the League Cup is a heavy blow that is hard to accept

In the 2024/25 English League Cup final, the "Red Army" Liverpool lost to the "Magpies" Newcastle 1-2 after conceding a goal and relying on Chiesa to score, and missed the championship. Liverpool goalkeeper Kelleher said that this was a difficult blow for the team to accept, but they will still go all out in future games.

Trippier took a corner kick in the 45th minute, and Dan Burn jumped up and headed the ball into the goal, helping Newcastle take the lead 1-0. In the 52nd minute of the second half, Jacob Murphy headed the ball to Isaac, who seized the opportunity to volley and score, helping Newcastle expand its lead to 2-0.

In the second half stoppage time, Chiesa received Elliott's through ball and pushed the ball into the goal, helping Liverpool to tie the game at 1-2. However, Liverpool failed to score again in the last few minutes and eventually lost to Newcastle 1-2 at Wembley Stadium, failing to achieve the goal of defending the title.

When talking about the feeling of losing the championship, Liverpool goalkeeper Kelleher said, "It's really disappointing and a heavy blow to all the players. But we must admit that Newcastle played well and they deserved the victory, so we have to pay tribute to them. But for us, it's really painful."

"We ourselves know that the team can play better, which makes the defeat even more difficult to accept. However, all the players gave their all and ran as hard as they could, but in the end they still fell a little short."

Kelleher continued, "We held on until the very end and believed we still had a chance. That goal gave us hope and anything could happen at that moment, but it was a pity we couldn't score a second goal."

"I have to say they did a good job of controlling the ball in the final moments. When the opponent controls the ball in the corner, it is really difficult to get the ball back and create a chance, and they held on to the result well."

In addition, after this international match day, Liverpool will host Everton in the next round of the Premier League. Liverpool currently ranks first in the standings with 70 points, 12 points ahead of second-placed Arsenal. In order to win the championship, Sloter's team must adjust their mentality and overall state to have more chances to achieve their goals.

Kelleher also added, "This has been a difficult week for us. The arrival of the international match day may be the right time for everyone to temporarily leave and adjust their mentality, and come back in a brand new state in two weeks. When we come back, there are still many important games to play, and we will go all out."