Carabao Cup: Newcastle beat Liverpool to lift first trophy in 70 years

Newcastle United ended 70 years of hurt with an emotion-filled win over Liverpool in the Carabao Cup Final at Wembley.
In front of 88,513 at the National Stadium, Dan Burn and Alexander Isak etched their names in Tyneside folklore, scoring the goals either side of the break that secured a first major trophy for Newcastle since 1955.
The Toon Army, starved of success for so long and with the raw memory of losing in this Final just two years earlier, ferociously backed their side with an outpouring of noise that was matched by a full-bloodied and committed performance by the men in black and white on the pitch.
Reaction to Newcastle United’s Carabao Cup win
Burn’s planted header and Isak’s instinctive finish were met with roars steeped with the pain of having lost nine successive matches at Wembley, a record that has now been firmly put to bed by Eddie Howe, who will forever be the man who delivered what the Geordies have so desperately desired.
Newcastle’s relentless hunger and commitment seemed to overwhelm a Liverpool side who had lifted this trophy 12 months earlier and were looking for their 11th success in the competition.
A trophy at the first time of asking was not to be for Reds boss Arne Slot, whose men will now focus on turning their dominant position at the top of the Premier League into a championship title.
The Magpies were full throttle from the off, with Harvey Barnes’s stretched effort and Sandro Tonali’s 20-yard curler failing to hit the target.
Kieran Trippier had a shot charged down and Bruno Guimaraes failed to connect with a glancing header five yards out, as the volume of the Toon Army increased alongside their side’s growing confidence.
Liverpool’s few moments of optimism came with balls over the top, searching for the pace of Luis Diaz, and it almost paid dividends when Jacob Murphy’s header back to Nick Pope briefly looked like it might be cut out by the Colombian.
But Burn made sure Newcastle had something to show for their first-half industry, rising to meet Trippier’s corner and planting his header into the bottom corner from 16 yards out.
It was a moment that sent the Newcastle fans into raptures, as Burn stormed over to his bench to embrace his coaching staff and team-mates.
Liverpool very nearly hit back with immediacy, but Diogo Jota could only slice wide from Luiz’s knockdown.
And there was no let off from Newcastle after the break, as Jacob Murphy headed down Tino Livramento’s cross for Isak fire home.
The Swede, so often the Toon’s talisman, celebrated with his arms outstretched in an iconic moment that will be cemented in Newcastle history.
Liverpool, in truth, never looked comfortable, with Curtis Jones rasping Nick Pope’s fingers in a rare effort on target.
And Isak should have secured his second, but failed to get a pure connection on Barnes’ cut-back before Murphy stroked wide from 20 yards.
Liverpool set up a tense finish, with Federico Chiesa slotting home in added time after VAR deemed him to be onside, but they saw out the final minutes to provoke scenes of joy among the Toon Army.