Liverpool face Newcastle United in the Carabao Cup final on Sunday, and it would be a fitting way to open Arne Slot's account, as it was Jurgen Klopp's last trophy.

That went against usual football diplomacy, where players talk of only focusing on the next game, but that’s perhaps part of the charm. It’s also part of the strange dynamics of these occasions, that at once enrich football but can also make it so emotionally wrenching.

Liverpool manager Arne Slot has confirmed the bad news that Trent Alexander-Arnold is set to miss this weekend’s Carabao Cup final due to injury.The England international had to be subbed off in