Liverpool are trying not to emulate what Newcastle United did last season.
The Reds are currently top of the Premier League, having reclaimed first place after beating Chelsea 2-1 on Sunday. Arne Slot continues his bright start to life as Liverpool manager, but is well aware that a big challenge is on the horizon.
And it is a challenge that Newcastle United were unable to rise to last season.
Newcastle struggled with Champions League demands
Being in the Champions League was incredible for Newcastle United, but it also created problems.
With the additional fixtures, Eddie Howe‘s squad became stretched beyond belief. Newcastle simply could not handle the added pressure of being in Europe.
You could argue that the squad was strong enough at the start of the season, but injury and suspension quickly ensured that the Magpies did not have the resources to compete on all fronts.
It culminated in a disappointing season for Newcastle – a season that ended with missing out on European qualification.
Arne Slot mentions Newcastle ahead of busy Liverpool schedule
While Newcastle missed out on Europe completely, Liverpool got back in the Champions League after missing out the year before.
They are better positioned to handle the rigours of European football, but Arne Slot is well aware that it will be difficult given what happened to Newcastle last season.
Following Liverpool’s win over Chelsea, Slot spoke to their official website about the relentless run of fixtures they have coming up.
“This is in my opinion our biggest test, to play Champions League and Premier League; the hardest games three days in a row,” he said.
“That’s what Manchester City did last season, that’s what Arsenal did – both of these clubs did this for two years in a row now. You saw two years ago how difficult that was for us and you saw last season how difficult it was for Manchester United and Newcastle to be involved in the Champions League and Premier League.
“That is for me the test we have to go through to see if we can stay or be where we are now.”
Newcastle not taking advantage of no European football
Newcastle did find last season very difficult. It was always going to be tough, but that was amplified by the crazy number of injuries that they suffered.
Slot is now hoping his Liverpool side can avoid the same issue, and you would assume they are better positioned to cope given their recent history of playing in Europe. Even when they weren’t in the Champions League last season, they were still playing in the Europa.
As for Newcastle, they no longer have the pressures of being Europe. That should be to their advantage this season, but that has not proven to be the case so far.
Newcastle are not playing like a team that only has to focus on its domestic duties. They are playing like a team that is out of form and unable to rely on their best players to bail them out.
It has been a slow start to what was expected to be a promising campaign. It still can be that, but Eddie Howe needs his players to raise their game. And there is no excuse not to without the distraction of European football.
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