Newcastle United had waited 70 years for a moment like this.
It was 1955 when the north-east club last won a piece of major domestic silverware but that drought is over after a 2-1 win over Liverpool in Sunday’s Carabao Cup final.
Nobody could argue it was not deserved, either. Newcastle were hungrier and carried more thrust throughout and could have been leading by more than just the goals scored by Dan Burn and Alexander Isak before Federico Chiesa ensured a nervy finale with a late strike.
For Liverpool, it was another grievous blow in a week which had already seen them eliminated from the Champions League by Paris Saint-Germain, although the Premier League title they seem certain to win should ensure the season is remembered as a triumph.
We dissect the major talking points at Wembley.
How big is this for Newcastle?
What had felt like an interminable wait is finally over. Fully 56 years on from lifting the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup (the competition that became the UEFA Cup and is now the Europa League) and 70 since they last won domestic silverware, the 1955 FA Cup, Newcastle have finally triumphed again on the big stage.
A staggering 30 clubs within the 92-team English league pyramid had won a trophy more recently than them — but not any more. After 2,759 competitive matches, another Newcastle captain has lifted major silverware above his head; Bruno Guimaraes, who had promised he would win something with the club so he could make himself a “legend” on Tyneside.
All of these players will, in the words of local lad Burn, forever be “immortals” in Newcastle. The fans have yearned for their moment of glory and, when you consider their heartache and five cup-final defeats across almost six decades, few could deny they warranted this.
Newcastle fans revel in their success (Henry Nicholls/AFP via Getty Images)
This, in theory, is merely the start for Newcastle under their present ownership. A consortium led by Saudi Arabia’s state Public Investment Fund (PIF) bought the club in October 2021, and that led to moral questions and also fears among other Premier League sides about the potential effect Newcastle’s new theoretical wealth could have.
In that sense, to the wider footballing world, this will not be seen as a fairy tale. But for Burn, the boyhood Newcastle fan, for Howe, the manager who took previous employers Bournemouth up from the fourth division to the Premier League and has now transformed his current ones from relegation fodder three years ago into cup winners, and especially for the long-suffering supporters, it is just that.
Newcastle are no longer a club defined by an inability to win anything. They have done so now — and that in itself is barely comprehensible.
Chris Waugh
Title beckons but could Slot’s season be fizzling out?
Heading into this week, Arne Slot called Liverpool’s three games against Southampton, Paris Saint-Germain and Newcastle “finals”.
One win and two defeats in the three is far from what he would have been hoping for. Instead, it has been a sobering few days. While the victory over relegation-bound Southampton (even there, they trailed 1-0 at half-time) strengthened their grip on the Premier League, defeats to PSG and Newcastle – the latter in a game where they failed to turn up – have ended any hopes of lifting more silverware than the title in Slot’s debut season as their manager.
Liverpool should go on and win the league as they have a 12-point lead over second-placed Arsenal with nine games to go. Being crowned champions in May will be a huge overachievement in Slot’s first year after succeeding the beloved Jurgen Klopp, and nobody should forget that amid the pain of this defeat at Wembley.
Arne Slot looks disconsolate (Henry Nicholls/AFP via Getty Images)
Yet, there is no hiding from the fact that this does put a dampener on things. It is a huge case of what might have been in both the Champions League and Carabao Cup, given how strong Liverpool have been this season.
With the title essentially wrapped up, there may be an anti-climactic feel to their run-in but the fans should still enjoy the title procession — assuming there is no shocking late collapse.
If Virgil van Dijk lifts the Premier League trophy in a couple of months’ time, then these few March days will be cast into the memory. Right now, though, and the manner of both defeats, means they will sting in the weeks to come.
Andy Jones
How clever corner routine set up Burn
Rarely can a more emotional goal have been scored at Wembley.
Boyhood Newcastle fan Burn, the then Brighton player who had told his father that, when the autumn 2021 takeover happened, his prospects of ever calling St James’ Park his home ground had surely evaporated, scored their first goal at Wembley in 25 years and 335 minutes of football.
Just two days after being called up to the England squad for the first time at the age of 32, the towering centre-back got away from Alexis Mac Allister, and rose in the box in the 45th minute to power a header across goal and hand Newcastle a deserved lead.
UK readers watch here:
“It’s the boy from Blyth!”
A bullet header from Dan Burn! 💥 pic.twitter.com/TWjNryvqeu
— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) March 16, 2025
U.S. readers watch here:
DAN BURN HEADS NEWCASTLE INTO THE LEAD IN THE CARABAO CUP FINAL💥 pic.twitter.com/va5BlcBWNA
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) March 16, 2025
But beyond the emotion, there was a calculated edge to this goal, which was the product of a set-piece masterclass by Jason Tindall, the assistant head coach.
Newcastle clearly had a ploy, which was for the 6ft 6in (198cm) Burn to peel off to the back, away from the towering Liverpool centre-halves Van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate, and then to direct their dead ball deliveries long. The 5ft 9in Mac Allister was being deployed as an intended blocker but it didn’t work: of five corners during the first half, Burn managed to get first contact at three of them, including for his goal.
The noise at the Newcastle end, which Burn then lifted several notches further by imploring the fans to cheer louder, was memorable. With his dad, brother and family watching on in the crowd, he’s never had a week in his professional life quite like this one.
Chris Waugh
Why were Liverpool so toothless?
If Slot had been dreaming up what his side could produce in the Carabao Cup final, then what he saw on Sunday afternoon was a nightmare.
Liverpool were awful, particularly in the first half. They failed to match Newcastle’s intensity and instead of using the disappointment of their Champions League exit in midweek as fuel, they looked more like they were feeling sorry for themselves.
They had plenty of possession but did nothing with it. They were overpowered in midfield, repeatedly forced to go long, firing aimless balls up the pitch. They were second to loose balls, lost duels and failed to control the game for any period.
Their front three of Mohamed Salah, Diogo Jota and Luis Diaz were left feeding off scraps. They struggled to provide their side with territory and offered nothing. Salah, often the player to produce a moment to ignite his side, was more spectator than participant.
Those forwards combined in the final moments of the half but Jota’s shanked shot — the first Liverpool had in the game and the first touch they had in the Newcastle box — had the look of what he is: a striker without a goal in 10 games.
Diogo Jota is left sprawling at Wembley (Stu Forster/Getty Images)
Had they got into the break level, they could have breathed a sigh of relief and reset in the dressing room. Instead, they failed to respond to Newcastle’s set-piece tactic of leaving Burn at the back post and conceded the opening goal right on half-time.
Liverpool have endured difficult first halves this season, but this was arguably their worst 45 minutes under Slot at the worst possible moment and it set the tone for their awful day in north-west London.
Going two goals behind so early in the second half reduced the chances of a comeback to a sliver, and Slot’s raft of substitutions left Liverpool looking even more disjointed, even if one of them — Chiesa — did halve the deficit in stoppage time.
Andy Jones
Why Isak was dangerous even without the ball
When Anthony Gordon was ruled out of this final through suspension, Newcastle’s attacking versatility shrank.
Here was a player with the ability to cover all three positions across the front line… gone. In Isak, however, Newcastle have a player whose movement gives them leeway.
Pre-game, the key match-up was Isak against Van Dijk, but in actual fact, Newcastle’s use of their Swedish striker was far subtler than having him play directly up against the Liverpool captain. With Trent Alexander-Arnold out injured and Jarell Quansah filling it at right-back, having struggled in that role against Newcastle at St James’ Park in December, Howe instructed Isak to drift wide and deep, occupying the young defender and drawing Van Dijk and Konate out of position.
Though Isak had just nine touches in the first half — the fewest of any player — don’t mistake that for being peripheral. Harvey Barnes and Joelinton cut inside from the left into the spaces Isak’s movement created — leading to a succession of half-chances, including the Barnes shot which won the corner that Burn headed home.
How Isak was used allowed the unheralded players to shine, and meant that even if Van Dijk and Konate won their individual duels, Newcastle had space to create.
Of course, Isak going under the radar was only beneficial to Newcastle. After 53 minutes, no Liverpool centre-back was tracking his run as Jacob Murphy outduelled Andy Robertson at the back post — and the Swede’s instinctive finish doubled Newcastle’s lead.
Howe didn’t choose to go through Van Dijk and Konate, but around their backs.
Jacob Whitehead
A Joelinton tackle that set tone for midfield dominance
With Alexander-Arnold missing through injury, Liverpool’s build-up suffered. They were reduced to two options: go long from goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher, or play it through Newcastle’s press.
The key to the game was that the second of those ceased to be a viable option. The black and white shirts of Howe’s midfield might as well have been bars.
Newcastle failed to turn up for their previous League Cup final against Manchester United two years ago, just as they failed to impose themselves in FA Cup final defeats in 1998 and 1999. That’s a generation of disappointment. But their intention was laid out in Sunday’s first half. This time, they were here to compete.
Midway through that half, Quansah and Joelinton met like sledgehammers on the touchline, wrestling for the ball almost in slow motion, before the Brazilian came out on top. He turned, flexed his biceps, and roared to the crowd.
Joelinton celebrates his tackle on Quansah (Glyn Kirk/AFP via Getty Images)
Joelinton was Newcastle’s standout performer, the dominant player on the pitch in both large and small spaces. He was there winning wrestles with Quansah and Dominik Szoboszlai, the latter got totally bundled out of the game; he was there sprinting 40 yards back to block a goalbound shot.
In Sandro Tonali and Guimaraes, Newcastle had midfielders with the technical ability to mop up Joelinton-inflicted spills, and get their own side going forward themselves.
Privately, Howe has insisted that Newcastle’s recruitment needs to focus on physicality and athleticism. This was his pipedream made reality.
Jacob Whitehead
What next for Liverpool?
Wednesday, April 2: Everton (Home), Premier League, 8pm UK, 3pm ET
What next for Newcastle?
Wednesday, April 2: Brentford (Home), Premier League, 7.45pm UK, 2.45pm ET
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(Top photo: Glyn Kirk/AFP via Getty Images)
