Liverpool head coach Arne Slot dismissed the idea Newcastle United's players were "hungrier" in Sunday's Carabao Cup final, but admitted Eddie Howe's side were deserved winners.
The Premier League leaders were beaten 2-1 in the showpiece fixture at Wembley, with Dan Burn and Alexander Isak finding the back of the net for Newcastle before substitute Federico Chiesa halved the deficit in stoppage time.
Howe's side survived that late scare to deliver Newcastle's first domestic trophy in 70 years, however Slot does not believe that prospect gave his opponents more motivation.
"It's 70 years since they've last won a trophy maybe, but that's for the fans," Slot said after the match. "The players only have 15 years to play football, and they want to win every single trophy they are competing for. That's also what we want.
"It was a game that went the way [Newcastle] wanted it to go and they got some extra energy with the goal just before half time, which they probably deserved after the first 45 minutes because they were threatening us more than we were threatening them. I don't think there was more hunger from them."
It has been a disappointing week for Liverpool who crashed out of the Champions League on penalties to Paris Saint-Germain in midweek.
Reflecting on his own team's display, Slot said: "Disappointing result. Disappointing performance. Completely different from how I felt after the PSG game. Losing twice in a row is something I think we've done for the first time, but that probably also comes with going into the latter stages of a tournament.
"PSG and Newcastle are two very good teams, both in their own styles. We already knew from the game at St James' Park how difficult it is to beat [Newcastle]. It was a tough week, but it was also a week when we extended our lead to 12 points so it wasn't all negative. But the last two were definitely not what we wanted."
Liverpool now have 17 days before their next game against Everton on April 2, when they will hope to return to winning ways in pursuit of the Premier League title.
"I would have loved to play next week, but now the situation is that they go to their national teams where they have to play two more games again," Slot said. "Then it is a week before we face Everton, who are again a team we have already faced, and we know how difficult that one was."
