The dust is settling on 's shocking display in but the inquest into it has only just begun. , capping a miserable few days which also .

Liverpool will surely still win the league as it holds a 12-point lead over with just nine games remaining, and the campaign will ultimately end up being one that is celebrated, but plenty of Reds fans won't be thinking about the positives right now considering the recency of the defeat.

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was brutal in its assessment of Liverpool's performance, with Chris Bascombe writing: "Finals expose flaws. The shock for Liverpool is they may not have realised how many they have to fix until witnessing their most insipid cup final appearance in memory.

"When assessing the debris of a horrible Wembley afternoon for the club, Fenway Sports Group’s chief executive, Michael Edwards, his sporting director Richard Hughes and manager Arne Slot must conclude a less obvious one has come to the fore during the European exit and Carabao Cup final humbling.

"The team which has scored over 100 goals this season is suddenly looking in need of a creative workshop and a summer in finishing school. This was Liverpool as the ultimate contradiction, possessing one of the most lethal goalscorers in the world but – for 95 minutes – reducing Newcastle United’s Nick Pope to the role of spectator to such an extent he could have watched alongside Ant and Dec."

's David Hytner wrote: "Slot had wanted to see a reaction to the Champions League last-16 exit against PSG but it did not come. The league title surely will and that will represent an outstanding achievement. But the impression here was that they were a team working on muscle memory, running on empty.

"It was easy to feel that it meant more to Newcastle, principally because of their long wait for silverware and also because these type types of showpieces have been so rare for them."

's Richard Jolly said that the slim margin of Newcastle's victory actually reflected too kindly on the Reds: "It was Liverpool’s worst performance of the campaign, Plymouth excepted. Theirs is still a terrific season but this has been a terrible week, a potential treble reduced to a lone trophy within five days. Newcastle were rampant. Liverpool ended up ragged. They were flattered by the scoreline, fine as Federico Chiesa’s finish was for his injury-time goal."

's James Pearce, meanwhile, suggested that the loss poses wider questions. He wrote: "After a season brimming with positivity, what a deflating week with back-to-back defeats for the first time in the Slot era. If the Champions League exit at the hands of Paris Saint-Germain on penalties was unfortunate, this was inexcusable — an error-strewn, lacklustre display with no redeeming qualities.

"Of course a sense of perspective is important. Twelve points clear of Arsenal with nine games remaining, Liverpool remain in the box seat to win the Premier League when domestic action resumes after the international break. That achievement alone would still make Slot’s first season at the helm one to cherish.

"The phrase ‘only the league title’ is laughable given the size of the prize and the fact Liverpool had waited 30 years to win it before Jurgen Klopp oversaw their previous triumph in 2020. However, Sunday’s debacle can’t just be swept under the carpet. How on earth did they fluff their lines so badly on the big stage?"