There is not any hiding that this Carabao Cup defeat was the worst show from a Liverpool aspect in a ultimate for a very long time – Arne Slot will take many classes from his most bruising week on the membership, writes LEWIS STEELE

Newcastle painted London black and white from Covent Garden on Saturday night to the packed-like-sardines tubes bound for Wembley Park on Sunday afternoon – and it felt like there were 10 Geordies for every one Liverpool fan in the capital.

On the pitch, the story was similar.

The Arne Slot machine malfunctioned at the worst time possible, following up their European exit with a Carabao Cup final defeat. Though the Dutch boss disagreed, Newcastle looked more hungry, more intense and more energetic than his languid Liverpool side.

It has been a struggle to find anything negative to say about this team all season but boy did they pick the worst time to throw in their worst performance of the campaign. They did not look at the races from minute one and failed to land any punches on Newcastle until it was far too late.

After falling to Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday night, this week can be fairly labelled the most bruising of the season, although we must not forget that Liverpool were far from poor against the French champions – they just came out second best.

But there is no hiding that this was the worst performance from a Reds team in a final since before most of these players were born. Where was the urgency? Where was the never-say-die attitude that has made this team Premier League champions elect?

This was Liverpool’s worst performance in a final for many years. Where was their hunger?

This has been a bruising week for the Reds and they were thoroughly bested by Newcastle

Arne Slot disagreed with that view, but it is up to him to make sure the team learns from this

All 11 starters will have boarded their planes on Sunday evening knowing each and every one of them was far from the sky-high standards they have set this season – some substitutes gave a little bit of impetus to be fair but overall it was sub-par.

Mohamed Salah has been the best player in England and probably Europe this season but, in Liverpool’s biggest week of the season, he has been nowhere to be seen. Ineffective in two games and that, you have to say, just proves the lack of depth in attacking areas.

Diogo Jota and Luis Diaz were poor in both fixtures, too, as was Darwin Nunez off the bench. A reactionary take maybe but this week has just highlighted how strengthening the front three should be a necessity this summer for Liverpool.

One of the positives to come out of the Wembley defeat was the attacker Federico Chiesa, who came off the bench to score and put in a fine cameo performance.

The Italian has played just 25 league minutes this season but, on this evidence, he deserves a start over Jota or Diaz soon… surely. His prolific finish was the kind of decisiveness in the penalty area Liverpool have lacked and he ran around with intent and passion.

And for those fans wondering what Slot’s men would be missing if Trent Alexander-Arnold accepts an offer from Real Madrid and leaves this summer, just watch this game. There was no creativity, no unorthodox balls from deep that usually make Liverpool so threatening.

All credit must go to Eddie Howe, Newcastle and their fans for their triumph – but Liverpool were dominated in the air and seemed to lose out in the physical battle, too.

Slot, who left the stadium in casual jeans and a jumper, now has more than two weeks to think about this disappointment. The Dutchman might wish to be straight back into the action but, in truth, the down time will do him and his squad the world of good both physically and mentally.

Mohamed Salah was nowhere to be seen in the most important week of Liverpool’s season

Diogo Jota and Luis Diaz were both poor going forward against both PSG and Newcastle 

Surely Federico Chiesa deserves a start soon – he was one of the only bright sparks here

This was a vision of what Liverpool could be like if they lose Trent Alexander-Arnold 

Eddie Howe steered Newcastle to a first domestic trophy in 70 years with the 2-1 victory 

This is not a time to panic, but Liverpool must learn from this set of crushing results 

This is the first time in his managerial career that Slot has lost two games in a row so he will not be accustomed to the negative thoughts he will have inevitably felt as he jetted off to enjoy – or maybe not – a few days of rest.

So what next? This is no time to panic. It is not time for drawn-out post-mortems of a disappointing week.

There is a league title to be won and Liverpool need to dust themselves down ahead of the next game on April 3 against an Everton side who have not lost in nine league games.

But they say you learn more about yourself in times of hardship and Slot will have taken many lessons from this week.

Time is a healer and winning the Merseyside Derby will be just the tonic to put this bad set of results behind them.

It is now on Slot to rally his troops and make sure his team stays on course for what will still be a remarkable first campaign in England.