SPORT

Newcastle end their wait for a trophy

Dan Burn and Alexander Isak ended 70 years of hurt as they fired Newcastle to Carabao Cup final victory over Liverpool.

Local boy Burn headed the Magpies into the lead on the stroke of half-time, and Isak’s 23rd goal of the season seven minutes after the restart secured a first domestic trophy since the 1955 FA Cup despite substitute Federico Chiesa’s late strike.

Newcastle, whose last piece was silverware was the 1969 Inter Cities Fairs Cup, were good value for their 2-1 win at Wembley on an afternoon when 10-times winners Liverpool looked wearied by the physical and emotional impact of their midweek Champions League exit at the hands of Paris St Germain.

Eddie Howe’s men took full advantage in front of a crowd of 88,513 as he became the first English manager to win a domestic trophy since Harry Redknapp in 2008.

The first chance saw Sandro Tonali curl a right-foot shot just wide of Caoimhin Kelleher’s left post after Harvey Barnes, in for the suspended Anthony Gordon, and Isak had combined to set him up, before Ibrahima Konate hacked Murphy’s cross behind two minutes later with Isak breathing down his neck.

Kelleher smothered Bruno Guimaraes’ effort from close range after Burn had headed down the resulting corner and Konate made a vital interception to deny Isak a clear run at goal, and it took a double block from Andy Robertson to keep out first Isak and then Kieran Trippier.

Nick Pope had to race from his line to prevent Luis Diaz getting to Mohamed Salah’s 37th-minute ball over the top but the opening goal finally arrived at the other end as the first half ticked into stoppage time when the unmarked Burn met Trippier’s corner with a powerful header, having earlier in the week received his first England call-up at the age of 32.

Diogo Jota stabbed wide from Diaz’s knockdown as the whistle approached, but it was Newcastle who went in at the break with the advantage.

It took a fine covering tackle from Joelinton to prevent Diaz running on to Jota’s cutback, after Virgil van Dijk had surged upfield and played him through.

Isak had the ball in the net with 51 minutes gone, although from an offside position after Liverpool had once again failed to deal adequately with a Trippier corner. However, he repeated the feat legally seconds later when Murphy turned Tino Livramento’s cross back across goal, beating Kelleher with relish.

Arne Slot replaced Konate and Jota with Curtis Jones and Darwin Nunez as he sought a way back into the game and Jones might have dragged his side back into it within two minutes of his arrival but for a stunning reaction save from Pope.

Kelleher had to be equally resilient to repel Isak’s close-range effort from Barnes’ volleyed cross in an increasingly open affair and although Chiesa pulled one back in stoppage time, the Magpies held on to beat the Reds for the first time in 18 attempts.