Eddie Howe’s Newcastle United side wrote themselves into club history at Wembley on Sunday courtesy of a famous 2-1 triumph over Liverpool in the EFL Cup final.
The Magpies ended a torturous 70-year wait for a major domestic trophy as goals from Dan Burn and Alexander Isak fired them to a deserved victory over a Liverpool side who could only muster a stoppage-time Federico Chiesa strike as late consolation.
While the result will go down as one of the most memorable in Newcastle’s history, for Liverpool it was a forgettable day in what has otherwise been a superb season.
Here, Sports Mole provides player ratings for both sides, live from Wembley.
Liverpool player ratings vs. Newcastle: Mohamed Salah among the anonymous as Reds produce Wembley whimper
© Imago
GOALKEEPER
Caoimhin Kelleher – 6/10
Chosen ahead of Alisson Becker due to being Liverpool’s League Cup keeper, and could not have done much about either goal. Saved Liverpool from further damage with a point-blank stop to deny Isak.
DEFENCE
Jarell Quansah – 4/10
We will never know whether Trent Alexander-Arnold being available may have made Liverpool more of an attacking force, but there were one or two occasions where Quansah appeared short of ideas having strode forward from defence. He had one or two shaky moments which threatened to let Newcastle in during the first half.
Ibrahima Konate – 6/10
Lasted less than an hour, but he was one of Liverpool’s better performers on an otherwise miserable day for the Premier League leaders.
Konate produced a few important defensive contributions in the first half – putting one over his own bar, bailing out Quansah after a poor touch and blocking a goal-bound Harvey Barnes shot, but he was replaced by Jones when Liverpool were searching for a goal.
Virgil van Dijk – 5/10
Dominant in the air as ever, and demonstrated his supreme reading of the game on a few occasions too. That said, he was nowhere to be seen for either goal and, while neither were solely his fault, he may have expected better from himself.
Andrew Robertson – 5/10
Made an important double block in his own area to deny first Isak and then Trippier in first half, but was utterly dominated in the air for Newcastle’s second goal and offered little creativity going forward either.
MIDFIELD
Ryan Gravenberch – 5/10
Liverpool’s midfield never really got control of the game, and that played a large role in Newcastle’s success. There were no glaring errors from Gravenberch, but nor could he turn the black and white tide.
Alexis Mac Allister – 4/10
Was found wanting for the opening goal, failing to get close to even disrupting Dan Burn as he leapt to give Newcastle the lead on the stroke of half time. Can usually dictate the pace of the game, but along with the rest of his side, he failed to ever get control of this one.
Mohamed Salah – 4/10
Salah’s stunning season so far dictates that he is judged by higher standards than pretty much anyone else on the pitch, and by those levels he was way off the mark today. The Egyptian looked spent at the end of the defeat to Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday night, and still seemed to be feeling the effects today during an anonymous display.
Dominik Szoboszlai – 5/10
Lots of effort and energy as usual, but not enough control of the game to help Liverpool ever truly settle and begin to dictate things.
Luis Diaz – 4/10
Like others, struggled to make any sort of meaningful mark on the game going forward. One of many underperformers on the day for Liverpool.
ATTACK
Diogo Jota – 4/10
It is more than two months since Jota’s last goal now, and he did not get close to ending that drought today. The only hint of a chance for Liverpool in the first half fell to him, but he skewed it well off target, and that rather summed up his afternoon before being taken off just 10 minutes into the second half.
SUBSTITUTES
Darwin Nunez – 5/10
Usually brings an element of chaos off the bench – as Newcastle have discovered to their cost previously – but failed to disrupt the Magpies defence and was even outfought on a couple of occasions.
Curtis Jones – 5/10
Missed a good chance to get Liverpool back into the game almost immediately after his introduction, firing down the middle of the goal when Nick Pope may have struggled more had it been either side of him.
Cody Gakpo – 5/10
Has been Liverpool’s League Cup specialist this season, but failed to make much of an impact after coming on at Wembley.
Federico Chiesa – 6/10
Pulled a late goal back for Liverpool with a well-taken finish that sparked some unexpected hope. Looked desperate to make an impact during his cameo, and in fairness arguably made a bigger one that any other player in red today.
Harvey Elliott – 6/10
Provided the assist for Chiesa’s goal with a perfectly-weighted through-ball, but was then forced off before full time with an injury, meaning that his time on the pitch was even shorter.
Newcastle player ratings vs. Liverpool: Dan Burn dances to Wembley glory with Isak and Joelinton in tow
© Imago
GOALKEEPER
Nick Pope – 7/10
Had very little to do courtesy of Liverpool’s limp attack on the day, but when he was called upon, he denied Curtis Jones with a strong save. Could not do much about Chiesa’s goal, which was Liverpool’s only other shot on target, but he did come out of his area on a couple of occasions to sweep up neatly.
DEFENCE
Kieran Trippier – 8/10
Amid a frenzied atmosphere and with so much angst and expectation in the stands, Trippier provided an experienced head. Cleaned up some potentially dangerous Liverpool attacks well, and then provided the corner from which Newcastle took the lead.
Fabian Schar – 7/10
Will not steal the headlines quite as much as his partner at the heart of the defence, but more than played his part in nullifying a Liverpool attack which looked about as blunt today as they have all season.
Dan Burn – 9/10
Our man of the match. Produced a towering performance at both ends of the field to further cement him as a crowd favourite for Newcastle, while he now has an undisputed and permanent place in the club’s history books having set the Magpies on their way to glory with his thumping header at the end of the first half.
Tino Livramento – 8/10
Was up against arguably the best player in the world this season in Mohamed Salah, and did not give him a sniff. Also had a hand in the second goal by delivering the cross which was then knocked down to Isak.
MIDFIELD
Bruno Guimaraes – 7/10
Helped to prevent Liverpool from ever getting a true grip on the game in midfield, while also being tidy in the middle of the park himself. Nothing too eye-catching, but another performance which the Newcastle fans will have relished.
Sandro Tonali – 7/10
Flashed one shot wide from outside area in the first half, but otherwise played a more under-the-radar game to help Newcastle beat Liverpool in pretty much every area of the pitch.
Joelinton – 8/10
The cheerleader-in-chief. Celebrated every tackle, block and track back like he had just scored the winner – and in fairness, some of them were worth celebrating. His passion would have endeared himself to the Newcastle fans just as much as his performance.
ATTACK
Jacob Murphy – 7/10
Whereas Burn’s towering header in the first half gave Newcastle the lead, Murphy’s at the back post in the second half teed up Isak to double it, just at a time when Liverpool were starting to improve slightly.
Alexander Isak – 8/10
Did not get much change out of Konate and Van Dijk in the first half, but will forever be a part of Newcastle history for his victory-clinching goal in the second – his 58th goal in 100 games for the club. Having seen one goal chalked off moments earlier, he took his goal really well to cap off what has been an incredible season.
Harvey Barnes – 7/10
In for the suspended Anthony Gordon and there was no noticeable drop in quality on that left flank. Bright and active, without producing any headline-grabbing moments.
SUBSTITUTES
Callum Wilson – 6/10
Brought on with around 10 minutes remaining and had no time to make a real impact on the game, but did help waste some valuable time late on after Liverpool’s goal back.
Joe Willock – 6/10
Similar to Wilson in that he came on in the closing stages and helped Newcastle see the game out without making too much material impact.
Emil Krafth – 5/10
A late sub to wind down the clock. Could not prevent Liverpool’s goal, but had no real time to make an impact.
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