Manchester United vs Newcastle United Carabao Cup Final Highlights & Match Reaction

Moti Prakash

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Last updated: 27 Feb 2023

Moti Prakash 27 Feb 2023

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Manchester United defeated Newcastle United to lift the Carabao Cup
Two first-half goals sealed victory at Wembley
The EFL Cup was the first trophy of Erik ten Hag's reign

Manchester United lifted the EFL Cup (Getty Images)

Manchester United ended their six-year trophy drought after beating Newcastle 2-0 in the Carabao Cup final at the Wembley Stadium on Sunday.

Both goals came in the first half – the first a glancing header from Casemiro after Luke Shaw played a perfectly weighted free-kick that bent onto the Brazilian’s path.

The second was deemed an own goal from Newcastle United’s Sven Botman after Marcus Rashford’s deflected strike found the back of the net.

There was a lot of anticipation before the game as this was a tie between two sides on the up – a great chance for both sides to mark their progress in recent months.

The game, however, was quite scruffy and physical – neither team could string clean passing sequences.

Before the first goal, Newcastle United winger Allan Saint-Maximin attracted most of the attention.

Manchester United right-back Diogo Dalot handled him well but was given a soft yellow card within nine minutes of the game, which put Newcastle United in the ascendency.

Aaron Wan-Bissaka came on in the second half for Dalot and did an excellent job nullifying the winger.

The Magpies' goalkeeping situation dominated much of the pre-match talk, with fourth-choice keeper Loris Karius thrust into the spotlight.

Karius had a difficult spell at Liverpool a few seasons ago but did well on the night. He made excellent saves throughout the game, and his counterpart David De Gea was also called upon to make big saves.

Defence Stands Up

United’s defensive triumvirate of Raphael Varane, Lisandro Martinez, and Casemiro have been at the forefront of the Red Devils’ rise under Erik ten Hag.

They showed their qualities once again on the big night. They were always there to clean up when Newcastle United got an attack going.

The Newcastle United fans were fantastic on the day – black and white flags were being waved toward the final minutes of the game, which signified the bond shared between the players and the fans since the club got bought by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF).

Erik ten Hag, usually quite stoic on the touchline and press conferences, broke into a dance with his former Ajax player Lisandro Martinez and Antony during the post-match celebrations.

During the celebrations, he also embraced legendary Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson in the tunnel.

The Red Devils are still active in three competitions, and there has been talk of a quadruple, but the players and Erik ten Hag reaffirmed that their focus is on the Premier League tie against Brentford in their post-match interviews.

Newcastle United are four points off Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League in 5th place but have two games to spare. The Carabao Cup finalists still have much to play for this season.