Newcastle United ended their decades-long trophy drought by beating Liverpool in the Carabao Cup final at Wembley Stadium on Sunday.
The Magpies’ last two major trophies were all the way back in 1955 and 1969, but now they’ve got their hands on the first big piece of silverware of 2024/25.
Newcastle defender – and boyhood Magpies fan – Dan Burn opened the scoring against Liverpool before Alexander Isak doubled the advantage.
And though Federico Chiesa halved the deficit late on, Newcastle hung on for glory, all of their players giving superb displays to thwart the Reds.
Newcastle goalkeeper Nick Pope had a solid afternoon in between the sticks, prompting Premier League legend David Seaman to give him his Save of the Week award.
The Arsenal and England icon told the Seaman Says podcast what he saw Pope do that initially seemed “weird” but ultimately proved “very effective”.
David Seaman praises Nick Pope’s ‘unorthodox’ save against Curtis Jones
Seaman praised Pope’s “really unorthodox save” against Curtis Jones in the 59th minute of the match.
Dominik Szoboszlai cut the ball back for Curtis to control, set himself up and fire towards goal, but Pope got a forearm to it and deflected the effort over the bar.
Seaman revealed how he noticed the £10million man making those kinds of saves in England training.
He initially thought they were “weird”, but was now praising their effectiveness.
“Save of the week… goes to Nick Pope – it’s a really unorthodox save, and it’s a Nick Pope save,” said Seaman.
“I saw him up at St George’s Park when I went to see Nick, Aaron (Ramsdale) and Jordan (Pickford) training.
“I noticed that Nick’s quite rigid and he makes saves like this, and I saw him doing a lot of it in training thinking ‘that’s a weird technique’ – but it’s effective!
“I think it was Curtis Jones, the ball got cut back and he met it and he put a lot of pace on it.
“Nick didn’t even have a chance to get two hands to it or anything, he just threw one arm at it and it was his forearm that knocked it over the crossbar.
“It looked a weird save, but it was such an effective save, and it’s about keeping the ball out no matter what.
“Nick Pope, save of the week mate – and congratulations!”
The latest episode of the Seaman Says podcast featured Newcastle cult hero Steve Howey, who praised the likes of Joelinton and Sandro Tonali.
What Nick Pope said about winning the Carabao Cup final after missing out on 2023 showpiece
Pope missed out on the League Cup final in 2023 because of suspension after a red card against Liverpool in the Premier League.
Reflecting on his performance in the 2025 final, Pope told Chronicle Live: “I missed the last final and I got injured in the Champions League so to get on the end of a good moment means the world.
“So many people have helped me at different crossroads along the way in my career. Obviously, your family has been there through the ups and downs.”
Pope also said: “It is an unbelievable feeling, and I can’t describe anything close to it, to be honest. We played so well on the day.
“We knew that history was on the line so it is an incredible feat in itself.
“I am incredibly proud of everybody connected to the club. We played out of our skin and the lads were unbelievable. The relief at the final whistle was there.”
