Rafael Benitez has admitted following Newcastle United’s disappointing exit from Carabao Cup that ‘something’ is wrong with his squad.
Newcastle United’s campaign went from bad to worse as they suffered a humiliating exit in the second round of the Carabao Cup after losing out 3-2 against Nottingham Forest at St. James’ Park on Wednesday night.
While Benitez made a raft of changes to his starting lineup for the clash, one would have expected the Magpies to go through in a match against a Championship side at home and the poor result is certainly starting to ring alarm bells in Tyneside.
Following the game the Newcastle boss Rafael Benitez stated his belief that his side deserved to win on the night but admitted that losing against an English second tier side proves there is something wrong with the team.
Benitez said, “Everybody was expecting that we have to beat Nottingham Forest, but at the same time, they are doing well in the league, they have some confidence, but the game was more or less as we were expecting.
“They could pass the ball, could move the ball, but we had the chances. I don’t remember too many saves from Darlow and I remember a lot of chances that we didn’t take.
“Because you play two days ago and you have to play two days after. At this stage of the season, the players have to be ready for playing in the cup against a Championship team.
“If you cannot, then it means that something is wrong. I thought we could do it and watching the team, watching the number of chances that we had, I think we deserved to go through.”
Owner Mike Ashley had stated a few days ago that Newcastle would be going all out to win domestic cups this season but unfortunately the Magpies squad simply do not look good enough to do so.
