Newcastle brought 70 years of hurt to an end on Sunday when they beat Liverpool 2-1 in the final of the Carabao Cup. Goals in either half from Dan Burn and Alexander Isak saw the Magpies to victory at Wembley Stadium as over 32,000 Geordies witnessed their side win a first major trophy in seven decades in the flesh.
Eddie Howe’s men were the better of the two teams from start to finish and were totally deserving of a victory that no one can ever take away from them.
The day could have had a different complexion had Liverpool been awarded a first-half penalty. The Reds found it difficult to make inroads beyond a stubborn Newcastle backline, though wanted a spot-kick when the ball struck Kieran Trippier’s arm, only for both the referee and VAR to ignore the Reds’ appeals.
As first-half stoppage time got underway, Newcastle notched themselves ahead. A teasing corner from Trippier found Burn – the tallest outfielder on the pitch by a considerable distance – unmarked, and he headed beyond Caoimhin Kelleher to give his boyhood side the lead. The Magpies were let off the hook with the last chance of the opening 45, however, when Luis Diaz rose high to touch a Mohamed Salah cross back for Diogo Jota, only for the Portuguese forward to slice his shot wide.
On the other side of the interval, Newcastle thought they had doubled their lead when Isak scrambled the ball home after Kelleher spilled another attempt from Burn, only to be denied by the most marginal of offside calls with Bruno Guimaraes in the goalkeeper’s line of sight. But moments later, the Magpies had their second goal. Tino Livramento’s cross to the far post was won high by Jacob Murphy, and Isak was quickest to pounce to divert the ball into the far corner.
To this point, Nick Pope had been having a quiet afternoon between the sticks, but he was forced into action when a sweeping Liverpool move saw Curtis Jones fire at goal, and the England shot-stopper came to the rescue with a strong save. Back down the other end, Isak was kept out by a fantastic save from Kelleher after Harvey Barnes selflessly played Guimaraes’ through-ball back across to Newcastle’s No.14.
Liverpool had the ball in the net midway through eight minutes of added time, but forgotten man Federico Chiesa was at first thwarted by the offside flag. However, he was deemed on after a VAR review and the Magpies were set for a nervy finish. Nevertheless, Geordie dreams came true as their men clung on to win the cup.
GOAL rates Newcastle’s players from Wembley…