Liverpool advance to League Cup final Sloter: Only winning the championship is special

With goals from Gakpo, Salah, Soboslai and Van Dijk, the "Red Army" Liverpool defeated the "White Lily" Tottenham Hotspur 4-0 in the second leg of the 2024/25 English League Cup semi-final. Coach Slot said that it was special to lead the team to Wembley Stadium to participate in the game, but also emphasized that only winning the championship can make his team feel special.

In the first leg of the semi-final, Liverpool lost 0-1 to Tottenham Hotspur away from home. In the 34th minute of the second leg, Salah made a cross from the penalty area, and Gakpo shot directly into the goal, helping Liverpool take the lead 1-0.

In the 49th minute of the second half, Nunez was knocked down by Tottenham goalkeeper Kinski when he was about to receive a pass from Salah, and Liverpool was awarded a penalty. Subsequently, Salah took the penalty and scored, helping Liverpool to overtake 2-0.

In the 75th minute, Soboslai received Connor Bradley's diagonal pass and pushed the ball into the goal, helping Liverpool continue to lead Tottenham Hotspur 3-0. In the 80th minute, McAllister assisted Van Dijk with a header from a corner kick, helping Liverpool further expand their lead to 4-0.

In the end, Liverpool eliminated Tottenham Hotspur with a total score of 4-1 at Anfield and successfully obtained a ticket to the English League Cup final. This will be the first time that Sloter will lead Liverpool to Wembley Stadium to participate in the final.

Liverpool manager Slot said in an interview after the game, "It is really special to be able to go to Wembley Stadium, because I know what that stadium symbolizes. But only winning the championship is special. We know this will be a difficult game because Newcastle is an impressive team."

Believe that players will get stronger with the game

“It’s always exciting to be in a final and we’re working hard every day to improve the team and the players are improving themselves. But at the end of the day, it all comes down to reaching the final and winning the title.”

Sloter also said: "We have experienced many important nights at Anfield, but reaching the final itself is special enough. This is the meaning. From this point of view, this is indeed the most special day."

When asked how the team can become stronger in the game, Sloter said, "First of all, the more times the players play together, the clearer they are about the expectations of each other. In the beginning, I told them how to play from the back when facing the No. 7, No. 9 and No. 11. They may think that this is how it should be handled. But as more games and more experience they have, this tactic will become more and more natural."

"It's a cumulative process, so the more games we play, the more meetings and training we have, the more the players will understand our tactical requirements and what is expected of each other."

Sloter added: "I firmly believe that the more games you play, the stronger the players will become and the better their fitness will be. Some people think that playing too many games will make players tired, but as long as it is managed properly, I think players will become stronger instead of tired if they play more games."