NEWCASTLE UNITED 2 Burn 45, Isak 52
LIVERPOOL 1 Chiesa 90+4
Newcastle United Nick Pope - Kieran Trippier, Fabian Schaer, Dan Burn, Tino Livramento - Bruno Guimaraes, Sandro Tonali, Joelinton - Jacob Murphy (Emil Krafth 90), Alexander Isak (Callum Wilson 81), Harvey Barnes (Joe Willock 81) Booked Pope, Tonali
Liverpool Caoimhin Kelleher - Jarrell Quansah, Ibrahima Konate (Curtis Jones 57), Virgil van Dijk, Andrew Robertson - Ryan Gravenberch (Federico Chiesa 74), Alexis Mac Allister (Cody Gakpo 67) - Mohamed Salah, Dominic Szoboszlai, Luis Diaz (Harvey Elliott 74) - Diogo Jota (Darwin Nunez 57) Booked Chiesa
Attendance 88,513 Referee John Brooks
NEWCASTLE UNITED ended 70 years of domestic hurt with a 2-1 win over Liverpool in a first Wembley Cup Final triumph since 1955.
Local hero Dan Burn marked his first England call-up by steering an unerringly accurate header past Liverpool goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher from Kieran Trippier's corner on the stroke of half time.
Then, in the second half, just moments after having had a goal chalked off by the video assistant referee (VAR), Alexander Isak struck a sublime half-volley from Jacob Murphy's knock-down to double the lead.
It was all far more straightforward than it felt - although Newcastle fans of a nervous disposition, scarred by so many years of Wembley misery, had their fears somewhat justified when Federico Chiesa pulled a goal back.
But it had taken 95 minutes for the Reds to breach the Magpies' magnificent defence just once - and, despite facing a further torturous five minutes of additional time, Newcastle were not to be denied.
This brilliant, well-deserved win under the Wembley arch ended the following painful sequence of six successive defeats at the national stadium in major Cup competitions, as follows:
- 4 May 1974 ▪ FA Cup Final ▪ Liverpool 3-0 Newcastle United
- 28 February 1976 ▪ League Cup Final ▪ Manchester City 2-1 Newcastle United
- 16 May 1998 ▪ FA Cup Final ▪ Arsenal 2-0 Newcastle United
- 22 May 1999 ▪ FA Cup Final ▪ Manchester United 2-0 Newcastle United
- 9 April 2000 ▪ FA Cup Semi Final ▪ Chelsea 2-1 Newcastle United
- 26 February 2023 ▪ League Cup Final ▪ Manchester United 2-0 Newcastle United
Nevertheless, this Newcastle team, featuring no fewer than nine of the players who appeared in the 2023 reverse, had learned from past mistakes.
In the past, the occasion always seemed as if it was too much for Newcastle and that resulted in some desperately tepid displays.
"Keegan two, Heighway one. Liverpool three, Newcastle none," chimed David Coleman in 1974, then a generation passed before Arsenal's Marc Overmars painfully turned Alessandro Pistone inside-out in 1998.
Twelve months later, Newcastle were mere bystanders as Manchester United marched to the second part of their Treble.
And the Magpies were effectively out of the game by half-time against the same opponents two years ago.
But this time was different. Spearheaded by their irrepressible midfield trio - Bruno Guimaraes, Joelinton and Sandro Tonali - Newcastle were in Liverpool's faces from the very first whistle and earned the better of the early exchanges.
Tonali flashed a shot past the post before Murphy fired well over the bar - then, just as the half threatened to drift to a close without any scoring, Burn popped up to put Newcastle into the lead in a major domestic Cup Final for first time since 1955.
The second half was a carbon copy. Newcastle were unfortunate not to add to their advantage when Isak poked in a rebound but Bruno Guimaraes was deemed to be interfering with play in an offside position despite Kelleher managing to get down to make a save low down from Joelinton's shot.
No matter. From his very next touch, Isak found the back of the net again after making a difficult finish look deceptively simple.
Liverpool briefly showed some form of response as Curtis Jones drew a one-armed save from Nick Pope - yet, if anything, Newcastle looked more likely to make it 3-0.
Harvey Barnes squared to Isak free in the middle of the box - and, although the Swede's effort was blocked by Kelleher, Eddie Howe's men never let up and further close efforts followed from Murphy, Joelinton and Tonali.
In stoppage time, Arne Slot's Reds eventually got the better of the Magpies' rearguard following just about the first mistake of the afternoon by Howe's side.
After the ball was desperately scrambled clear, Bruno Guimaraes tried to run it out to the halfway line - but instead the Brazilian coughed possession up far too easily.
Harvey Elliott carved open a defence still trying to recover from the previous assault and, with a well-weighted pass, found Chiesa who finished a neat move completely out-of-keeping with the remainder of the Reds' afternoon.
Initially ruled out for offside, the Italian was confirmed to be comfortably on - and the length of the VAR check merely served to extend the Magpies' painful wait.
Newcastle never panicked, though, with Bruno Guimaraes next time running the ball into one corner deep in Liverpool territory, before substitute Joe Willock repeated the trick on the other side of the pitch to win a corner and the reward of an emphatic chest bump from Tonali.
A few moments later, the longest major trophy drought in English club football was over - and greeted by the ear-splitting elation of the black-and-white half of Wembley. Finally, it was over.
Now, of course, all the players and staff deserve credit for having finally rid Newcastle of what had seemed like an unfathomable curse.
However, there are a few heroes in black-and-white that deserve a special mention.
Current captain Bruno Guimaraes, whose tears were guaranteed come rain or shine, and who is the embodiment of the emotion of the Geordie nation despite the fact that he hails from Rio de Janeiro.
Former skipper Trippier, who lifted the Cup alongside Bruno, and who believed in the potential of Newcastle so much that he swapped a Champions League campaign with Atletico Madrid for a relegation fight in which he played the key role in ensuring survival.
And another early Eddie Howe signing, Blyth-born 6'7 Big Dan Burn, who was man of the match and lived out his wildest boyhood dream in real-time.
"It's not beyond our wildest dreams because we did have wild dreams," said Sir Bobby Robson when Newcastle qualified for the Champions League under his tutelage.
Howe, unusually emotional at full time, had also already achieved that when he took his place on the Wembley touchline, but he has now done something no other manager - not Robson or even club great Kevin Keegan - could do.
Newcastle have won a major trophy for the first time since Joe Harvey's side put Ujpest Dozsa to the sword in Budapest in the month before Man first walked on the Moon.
For the first time in nearly 56 years, Newcastle are winners - and it has been so long that all of the Toon Army still seem to be rubbing their eyes in disbelief and none of it yet seems true.
Yes, it all still feels like a dream - the wildest of dreams.
ROUTE TO THE CUP FINAL
| NEWCASTLE UNITED | ||
| Round 1 Bye | ||
| Round 2 v Nottingham Forest (A) | D1-1 (4-3 pens) | Willock 1 |
| Round 3 v AFC Wimbledon (H) | W1-0 | Schar 45+1(p) |
| Round 4 v Chelsea (H) | W2-0 | Isak 23, Disasi 26(og) |
| Quarter final v Brentford (H) | W3-1 | Tonali 9, 43, Schar 69 |
| Semi final v Arsenal (A) | W2-0 | Isak 37, Gordon 51 |
| Semi final v Arsenal (H) | W2-0 (4-0 agg) | Murphy 19, Gordon 52 |
| LIVERPOOL | ||
| Round 1 Bye | ||
| Round 2 Bye | ||
| Round 3 v West Ham United (H) | W5-1 | Jota 25, 49, M Salah 74, Gakpo 90, 90+3 |
| Round 4 v Brighton & Hove Albion (A) | W3-2 | Gakpo 46, 63, Diaz 85 |
| Quarter final v Southampton (A) | W2-1 | Nunez 24, Elliott 32 |
| Semi final v Tottenham Hotspur (A) | L0-1 | |
| Semi final v Tottenham Hotspur (H) | W4-0 (4-1 agg) | Gakpo 34, Salah 51(p), Szobodzlai 75, van Dijk 80 |
