Manchester United won the Carabao Cup at Wembley Stadium with a 2-0 win over Newcastle United, its first trophy since 2017.
Casemiro broke the deadlock just minutes after the half hour mark and headed home from a Luke Shaw freekick.
After Marcus Rashford seemed to be continuing his electric form, his deflected strike just missed Lorius Karius and flew into the Newcastle goal. The German’s despairing fingers were later corrected by Sven Botman.
This trophy is a testament to the remarkable turnaround achieved by Erik ten Hag, Manchester United manager. He has transformed the club in just 10 months from a perennial underachiever into trophies.
Bruno Fernandes, Manchester United’s midfielder, said that it was an incredible feeling. He spoke to Sky Sports moments after the whistle blew.
It’s been an incredible period.We want more.This club doesn’t have enough, we need more. Our standards deserve more.
Both teams were disappointed, but it was the end of a long time.
Manchester United hasn’t been awarded a trophy since 2017, a huge accomplishment for a club this size.
It is a longer wait in the black and white Newcastle because they have not been awarded any major silverware in 54 years.
It’s also the first final for club since controversial takeover of Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund in 2021.
As part of a three party consortium, the PIF has an 80% share in the club. It is a sovereign wealth trust chaired Mohammed bin Salman, Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia. This man was named in a US intelligence report as being responsible for approuving the operation that resulted in the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
Wembley had an authentic cup final atmosphere thanks to the thousands of supporters who made the trip down from Newcastle to London.
To the delight of Manchester United supporters, Rashford was declared fit to play despite an injury scare.Newcastle’s goalkeeper Nick Pope was not available after he had been sent off in his previous match. He was therefore suspended.
The first few minutes were a raucous affair.
It looked like Newcastle was building up steam but Casemiro scored a free kick that was sent past Karius.
Ten Hag signed the Brazilian midfielder in a PS60m ($73m) deal with Real Madrid. His impact as the heart and soul of the team is indicative of Manchester United’s growth since Ten Hag’s arrival.
Newcastle’s situation got worse minutes later, when Wout Weghorst and Rashford played some clever link-up play that saw the England star play into the box.Botman pressure meant that Rashford was able to score a left-footed goal, but the shot seemed to have been headed wide. The Netherlands defender was awarded the goal.
Newcastle increased its pressure on David de Gea after the halftime break. Saint-Maximin, Alexander Isak, and Alexander Isak did their best to create goalscoring opportunities.
The last two minutes of the match were full of substitutions, set pieces and breakaway opportunities. Manchester United looked the most likely to score.
With the final result almost over, Portugal international Fernandes had a wonderful opportunity to close out a memorable afternoon. However, Karius made a smart stop.
Manchester United managed to finish the remaining time and end the six-year trophy wait. This was the longest wait of any club for a major trophy since 1983.
It’s a mix of all emotions.These types of games are huge for us.It’s something we haven’t done as a club,” Rashford said to Sky Sports afterward.
It’s an incredible feeling to know that we have made it this far and won.We hope it will motivate us to continue.There is a hunger for more finals.I have been to finals that we won or lost.It’s a huge accomplishment for us both as individuals and a part of our past.We are committed to continuing to improve on that.”
He said, “We want to participate in many games and that means we have to stay in competitions.We must keep going if we want to win.
Newcastle was disappointed at Wembley, losing nine of its last nine matches. This is a run that began with the 1974 FA Cup final and has lasted the longest time a club side has lost at the stadium.
