Newcastle Ends 70-Year Wait, Wins Carabao Cup
Newcastle United ended a 70-year domestic trophy drought as they beat holders Liverpool 2-1 to win the Carabao Cup, courtesy of goals from Dan Burn and Alexander Isak at the Wembley Stadium on Sunday.
Defender Burn opened the scoring with a header in the 45th minute to reward Newcastle’s dominant first-half display.
Roared on by a sea of fans clad in black and white, Newcastle took control of the showpiece final seven minutes after the break.
Swedish forward Isak swept a shot past Liverpool keeper Caoimhin Kelleher, sending Newcastle on the way to a memorable victory.
Runaway Premier League leaders Liverpool halved the deficit in stoppage time with substitute Federico Chiesa scoring.
However, the damage was done and the day belonged to Eddie Howe’s Newcastle who won the club’s first domestic trophy since 1955.
“It’s all for these fans,” Newcastle captain Bruno Guimaraes, said before raising the trophy. “It’s all for these fans. They deserve everything.”
“When I first came here I said I wanted to put my name in history. We can now say we are the champions again.”
Newcastle suffered heartbreak two years ago in the League Cup final against Manchester United, their ninth straight loss at Wembley, but they were determined to write their names into folklore as they tapped into the energy from their supporters.
Liverpool on the other hand looked flat and appeared to be suffering a UEFA Champions League hangover after being knocked out of Europe by Paris St Germain on penalties on Tuesday.
One statistic summed up the Reds’ day — talisman Mohamed Salah, for the first time in his Liverpool career, having neither a shot nor creating a chance in a match in which he played 90 minutes.
“A disappointing result and disappointing performance,” Salah said. “The game went exactly how (Newcastle) wanted it to go. They deserved to win.”
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