Carabao Cup final analysis: Five reasons why Newcastle United won at Wembley
Newcastle United’s domestic drought of 70 years is over after Eddie Howe cemented himself as a club legend, guiding them to victory over Liverpool in the 2025 Carabao Cup final.
The Magpies ran out deserved winners at Wembley despite the late scare of Federico Chiesa’s 94th-minute goal after Dan Burn and Alexander Isak scored either side of half-time.
Sunday marked Newcastle’s first win in 18 attempts against the Reds, but what key factors contributed to the Toon Army’s historical day?
Sports News Blitz writer Joseph Hannen analyses the final from a Newcastle perspective.
Eddie Howe’s tactical brilliance
Howe’s approach was clear to see from the off, aggressively pressing the Liverpool back four at the right times to limit passing opportunities to danger men Mohamed Salah and Luis Diaz.
Salah, arguably the best player on the planet, was limited to only 23 touches, the lowest of any player in the match who played to the 90.
This is because of the coordinated press of Isak, Harvey Barnes and Valentino Livramento.
Barnes drifted in to support Isak when pressing, allowing Livramento to close down Liverpool’s stand-in right back Jarell Quansah, who was unable to find Salah throughout the match and managed 1/6 successful long balls.
Newcastle were also happy to drop into a 4-5-1 when defending their box, further limiting the effectiveness of Liverpool’s wingers who were desperate to cut inside.
Howe made perfect use of attacking combinations down both flanks, which directly led to nine corners, one of which led to Newcastle’s opener.
Barnes and Livramento combined down the left early in the second half, with Livramento delivering a deep cross to Jacob Murphy who nodded down to Isak for the second.
Liverpool were limited to only one shot in the first half, and a total of seven despite chasing the game for the majority of the second half.
Dan Burn’s colossal performance
A Hall of Fame performance from the giant from Blyth, scoring his second Wembley goal in his career - the first being for Yeovil Town back in 2013, a testament to his incredible rise in football.
Burn won 6/7 aerial duels, made 11 clearances and was awarded the man of the match award.
No better way to silence those critical of his recent England call-up to Thomas Tuchel’s squad.
Both Burn and Fabian Schar were dominant in the duels, both winning seven on the ground.
Burn’s job only got easier as Liverpool became desperate. Every hopeful ball into the box was headed out without a fuss.
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Midfield masterclass
Newcastle’s midfield three of Sandro Tonali, Bruno Guimaraes and Joelinton were all magnificent throughout the game.
Joelinton deserves to be highlighted - watching him sprint back 50 yards to wrestle the ball off Quansah gave everyone an additional boost in confidence, it was celebrated almost like a goal.
He won 7/9 ground duels and made seven defensive actions in a physically-dominant performance.
The midfield’s oppression meant Dominik Szoboszlai was unable to grab control throughout the game - the attacking midfielder registered a combined xG and xA of 0.11, and lost 62.5% of his duels.
Due to the aggressive press, the midfielders pressed high against Liverpool's central options when Quansah had the ball.
The intensive pressing completely limited Liverpool’s chances of playing through the middle, forcing aimless long balls.
Guimaraes won four tackles, nine duels and made nine recoveries, a top performance in his first final as captain.
The Brazilian claimed the win as “one of the best days of my life” when interviewed in front of the celebrating fans after the match.
Kieran Trippier showed his class
Kieran Trippier has been in and out of the starting XI this season and has been subject to rumours of a move away from Tyneside in multiple windows.
But he proved exactly why Howe wanted him to stay with a performance demonstrating total leadership despite losing captaincy. He set the tone for how Newcastle would go on to perform.
Luis Diaz had no luck against him, taking no shots, having only one touch in Newcastle's box and completing a single successful dribble in the match.
Trippier was Newcastle’s best player in the 2023 Carabao Cup final defeat to Man United, a match that highlighted inexperience in cup finals.
The full-back holds so much influence off the pitch and his leadership, combined with a previous taste of a cup final, was evident on the Newcastle players who never looked flustered during the match.
Arne Slot’s subs nullified
Arne Slot’s attempt to throw the kitchen sink at Newcastle ultimately failed.
Subs Darwin Nunez and Curtis Jones were ineffective, with Nunez having only six touches. Gakpo’s introduction was no better, winning 3/10 duels and completing seven passes.
Slot’s last two subs were able to combine, Harvey Elliot sliding Chiesa through but it was too late to salvage extra time.
Newcastle defended deeper to see out the game in a more narrow and compact structure, sacrificing control on the wings.
The central players for Newcastle were able to form counter-attacks as Liverpool threw more bodies forward, and created enough chances to go 3-0 up.
It took a Guimaraes mistake for Liverpool to score in what was a near flawless performance from Howe’s men.
