Newcastle United’s long wait for a title ended with the final whistle at the legendary Wembley Stadium. A 2-1 victory over Liverpool earned the Magpies the League Cup.
When referee John Brooks ended the League Cup final after more than 100 minutes of play, Newcastle United erupted. The Magpies had previously beaten an unusually weak Liverpool offense 2-1 in an intense encounter to claim their first domestic title since 1955, when the black and whites won the FA Cup. Subsequently, the club only managed to lift one more major trophy in the north-east of England: the 1969 European Cup Winners’ Cup, which is now regarded as the predecessor of the Europa League.
In training, the corners were only “moderate”
Magpies coach Eddie Howe also gave a moving interview on Sky after the game: “It’s very, very emotional. To be honest, I’ve been emotional all day, which is very unusual for me, but we just knew what was at stake – for everyone in the stadium, for everyone in Newcastle. We just wanted to make them proud and give it our all to win the trophy.” After all these years of heartbreak, they deserved to win the title not only for the result but also for their performance, the coach continued.
Above all, Howe highlighted his captain Dan Burn, who played very well both defensively and offensively and was always dangerous after set pieces. “What a week, what days for him: he was outstanding today. He and Fabi played outstandingly. Both teams played no-frills football today,” said the coach, adding with regard to his goal: ‘We’ve been working on corners for the last two weeks, but we’ve only had moderate success, I can be honest about that. And today he delivered a goal.’
Howe was referring specifically to the 45th minute: a corner from Kieran Trippier sailed into the box and found Burn’s head, who nodded the ball perfectly into the far corner from just ten meters. A goal that put the Magpies on the road to victory, because shortly after half-time Alexander Isak increased the lead. Federico Chiesa scored in injury time, but this was only cosmetic as the final whistle sounded shortly afterwards.
“One of the best days of my life”
Even Bruno Guimaraes could not hold back his emotions after the game. With tears in his eyes, he gave free rein to his joy: “70 years! That’s a lot for the fans. They deserve everything. When I arrived in Newcastle, I said that I wanted to see my name in the club’s history. And that’s it. After 70 years, we can call ourselves champions again”. The Brazilian said that today was one of the best days of his life.
However, the team won’t have much time to celebrate: a number of players will travel to the national team during the week. Whether the team can use the momentum of the title win will not be seen until the following week, when Brentford are guests on Wednesday, April 2 at 8:45 p.m.
