That’s it for today’s blog. Thanks for your company and emails; I’ll leave you with Dave Hytner’s match report from Wembley. Congratulations to Manchester United, commiserations to Newcastle – goodnight.
And here’s the main man, Erik ten Hag
We showed the right spirit – we fought and gave everything, as a team. It wasn’t always the best football but it was effective. You have to win the first [trophy], and that is what we did today. You can take inspiration from this, but also more confidence. We are still at the start [of the process] to restore Man United to where they belong.
[On the team spirit] They are really good collectively. Also, they challenge each other, which needs to happen. It’s a good dressing-room. When it’s difficult they help each other out. It’s great to see, and I think it’s the best a manager can get.
[Are you surprised the players have done so well so early in your reign?] I don’t know, I just want to win. We invested from the start of the season, with the staff – I want to say that they have done an incredible job – and the staff and players are together. There is a hunger and desire for trophies.
[Champagne tonight?] Champagne for the manager and the staff. We’ll rest the players, they have a big game on Wednesday!
[On his dancing] We have a history of this [with Antony and Martinez], I hope we can do it more often!
[On Casemiro] I said before the game: Rapha Varane, Casemiro, David de Gea, they know how to win trophies. You need lads like that on the pitch, to coach the team and organise them, and especially for their mentality. The winning attitude is so important.
Marcus Rashford speaks
It’s a mixture of emotions. It’s massive for us to be involved in these games, it’s something that we’ve missed as a club, and hopefully this win pushes us to keep going. We want more moments like this.
The manager wants us to play attacking football and [be able to switch positions]. It’s something that we’ve worked on but I also think it’s natural for a lot of our attacking players.
[Casemiro] makes a huge difference: his leadership and experienced in gig games is huge for us. I’ve spoken to some of the forwards and we all said that when he’s on the pitch you feel a sense of security. I’m buzzing for him today.
“Leave Ole alone, Rob,” says Liz White. “We’ll always have Paris.”
I was being kind! I bet he’s beaming from ear to ear.
Updated
David Hytner’s match report
Look at his face!
It would be interesting to see the faces of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Jose Mourinho, United’s last two permanent managers, right now.
It’s 2,104 days since United’s last trophy, and 197 since they were 4-0 down to Brentford at half-time. Erik ten Hag has done a phenomenal job in so many way – coaching, tactics, man-management, game management, discipline, PR, Ronaldo - and he watches on with pride as Harry Maguire and Bruno Fernandes lift the Carabao Cup to the heavens!
The players lift the trophy, one by one, to huge cheers – but the loudest of all is reserved for the manager. We shouldn’t get carried away, as they still have work to do, but Manchester United are a serious football team once again. It’s been a long time coming.
MANCHESTER UNITED - CARABAO CUP CHAMPIONS! 🏆🔴 pic.twitter.com/OqIDCqjebV
— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) February 26, 2023
Updated
Now it’s Manchester United’s turn. The club captain Harry Maguire and the team captain Bruno Fernandes are going to lift the trophy together, just like Steve Bruce and Bryan Robson on 3 May 1993.
Erik ten Hag stands between Antony, who is wrapped in a Brazil flag, and Lisandro Martinez, wrapped in an Argentina flag, and starts showing his dance-floor moves. This isn’t the first trophy they’ve won together, and it’s unlikely to be the last.
Party time 🕺🕺 pic.twitter.com/6Im4RT7gNQ
— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) February 26, 2023
Newcastle are going up to collect their medals. The scoreline is the same, but I wouldn’t put this game alongside Newcastle’s 2-0 defeats in the FA Cup finals of 1998 and 1999. They are going places, we all know that, and unlike in those games, their heads didn’t drop in the second half.
Updated
It wasn’t a great game, in truth, but Man Utd scored at good times and saw the game out in the second half with the minimum of fuss. Erik ten Hag’s substitutions were excellent: Wan-Bissaka for Dalot, who was on a yellow against Saint-Maximin, at half-time, then McTominay and Sabitzer to stiffen the midfield when Newcastle were pushing with 20 minutes to go.
It’s lovely to see some of the reactions. Varane and Martinez walking along with their arms round each other; Wout Weghorst on his haunches, staring into the crowd with a look of wonder on his face; Marcus Rashford beaming proudly.
Updated
The United captain Bruno Fernandes speaks
It’s an amazing feeling. We have been searching for this moment, – us, the fans, the club – and finally we get our trophy, I think deservedly.
This is not enough for this club. We want more and we need more.
Erik ten Hag celebrates modestly, walking over to shake hands with Eddie Howe. The players are all in a huddle, jumping round like eejits. It’s a spectacular turnaround from a shocking start to the season against Brighton and Brentford. It helps when you sign Casemiro, and he was the best player on the pitch – he scored the first goal and then kept Nescastle at arm’s length during the second half.
Casemiro has won 48 Champions Leagues, yet he’s celebrating as if this is his first trophy.
Full time: Man Utd 2-0 Newcastle
Manchester United have won their first trophy in six years!
Updated
90+5 min It has kicked off again, this time with Schar and Martinez involved. I’m not sure what happened but it was all posturing really. Martinez and Schar are booked.
90+3 min: Fine save by Karius! McTominay robs Burn on the halfway line and United are three on two. He cuts inside the last defender Willock and smashes a shot that hits the outstretched right arm of Karius and loops over the bar. That’s his best save of the match.
Updated
90+2 min Luke Shaw is booked for delaying a Newcastle free-kick. When it’s eventually taken, Joelinton loops a curling header that is flapped away by the backpedalling de Gea. Good save.
90+1 min Five minutes of added time. Newcastle have brought on Matt Ritchie and Elliot Anderson for Callum Wilson and Miguel Almiron.
90 min Martinez rounds on Wilson after a challenge near the byline. It peters out soon enough.
89 min: Man Utd substitution Harry Maguire replaces Marcus Rashford, another pragmatic change from Erik ten Hag.
Updated
88 min A much better effort from Murphy, who whistles a 30-yard drive just wide of the right-hand post. De Gea didn’t move. That ball swerved prodigiously, like something from Eder’s left foot.
88 min Casemiro is booked for a poor challenge on Joelinton, studs into the top of the foot after he was beaten to a 51/49 ball.
87 min Wan-Bissaka, who looks reborn under Erik ten Hag, shoots straight at Karius from the edge of the area after a layoff by Sancho.
86 min A loose ball drops to Joelinton in the United area; his snapshot is blocked. The defensive triangle of Varane, Martinez and Casemiro, three serial winners, have been immense.
85 min David de Gea is booked for timewasting, which is vaguely amusing given all the pre-match flapping of gums about Newcastle’s time management.
84 min Murphy zips past Casemiro on the right side of the area but then spanks a hopeful shot high and wide. That wasn’t the best bit of decision making.
82 min: Man Utd substitution Jadon Sancho replaces Antony, who generally did as Antony does.
81 min Schar goes over in the area after a challenge from Fernandes, who really is a liability in his own penalty box. David Coote says no; VAR says what David Coote said. It wasn’t a foul.
Updated
79 min Man Utd break two on one from a Newcastle throw-in, with Fernandes on the ball and Rashford free to his right. Trippier does superbly to buy a bit of time while three or four teammates charge back, and then he is able to divert Fernandes’s pass back to Karius. Trippier’s positioning was perfect there.
Updated
78 min: Double substitution for Newcastle Jacob Murphy and Joe Willock replace Allan Saint-Maximin, who was Newcastle’s brightest attacker even though he didn’t always pick the right option, and a limping Bruno Guimaraes.
77 min Sabitzer, a man on a mission since coming on as substitute, hits another stinger that is blocked on the edge of the area.
Updated
76 min “Is this a final with highly conflicting emotions as a neutral” wonders Ian in Portugal. “For context, I’m a Spurs fan and I dislike Manchester United so much. The entitlement is unbearable for a club run with incompetence. But Newcastle, a team you could once get behind because of the fervour of the fans, are much worse.
“A sportswashing outfit on an imminent path to glory (I feel the same about Man City, PSG, etc). Which makes this, all in all, a quite unenjoyable experience. But I’m up for Man Utd as at least, as far as I know, they don’t sit on the wrong side of human rights history.”
(NB: clip contains adult language)
74 min Now Sabitzer shoots over from 25 yards.
74 min: Good save by Karius! Sabitzer wins the ball on the halfway line with a fine sliding tackle and plays it early to Rashford. He cuts inside Schar, 25 yards from goal, and sweeps a low shot that is well saved to his right by Karius.
Updated
72 min The diving de Gea does brilliantly to stop Trippier’s low cross reaching Wilson in front of an open goal. Turns out Trippier was offside, but de Gea didn’t know that.
Trippier was released by a marvellous angled pass from Bruno Guimaraes. He is such a good player, and I can’t quite understand why he played so little at the World Cup.
69 min: Double substitution for Man Utd Marcel Sabitzer and Scott McTominay replace Fred and Wout Weghorst, which means Rashford will go up front.
Erik ten Hag has made umpteen decisive attacking substitutions. Today his changes have all been pragmatic, most notably the vital introduction of Aaron Wan-Bissaka at half-time. He can cut a cloth, there’s no question about that.
68 min Wan-Bissaka and Martinez both make crucial blocks, Martinez’s a typically dramatic effort in the six-yard box, to stop shots from Joelinton.
68 min “Not sure what Duncan Edward’s opinion is,” says Justin Kavanagh, “but I think Bruno Fernandes is having another excellent game as referee.”
67 min Botman is booked for throwing the ball down in disgust when a foul is given against Isak.
Updated
66 min In the last five minutes Newcastle have had 82 per cent of the possession. It might be time for Man Utd to put Rashford up front.
65 min Saint-Maximin runs at Wan-Bissaka in the area, twisting one way and then the other, but Wan-Bissaka stays on his feet and calmly concedes a corner.
Updated
64 min Almiron’s long-range shot is blocked by Martinez. There are a few shouts for handball from the crowd, nothing much on the field.
62 min Newcastle continue to press, but for all their bright play they haven’t really created a chance in the second half.
59 min “Greeting from a taxi in Santiago,” says Alan Pugh. “It’s perfectly possible in a data driven world to quantify shithousery. The unit of measurement should be the milliCosta surely?”
58 min Bruno Guimaraes rolls round in pain after stretching to block a Fernandes clearance. His studs got stuck in the pitch as he lunged towards the ball, and he is receiving treatment to his right foot.
57 min There’s no sign of fatalism among the Newcastle players, despite the scoreline. They are still attacking with purpose and confidence, particularly Saint-Maximin. After a long spell of possession, Burn bursts into the area and is well challenged by Fred.
Updated
55 min “It’s noon hour here in Nova Scotia, so drinking coffee (responsibly),” says Liz White. “Loving the energy of the game! Which team do you think will go down to ten men first? I’m predicting a bench-clearing brouhaha around the 86th minute. As happy as I am with the score line, I’d be pleased for Karius if he made a few big saves. As long as Manchester win, of course.”
Updated
54 min Fernandes’s long-range shot goes miles over the bar, but it must have taken a touch off somebody because the referee has given a corner. Newcastle aren’t happy as they think Fernandes talked the referee into that.
51 min Trippier’s dangerous free-kick is headed away well by Wan-Bissaka at the far post.
49 min Wan-Bissaka robs Saint-Maximin high up the field and finds Weghorst, whose off-balance pass hits a defender and bounces through to Karius. Man Utd appeal for handball and therefore a penalty; the referee isn’t interested.
48 min “I’ve been thoroughly unimpressed with Newcastle’s attempts to ref the game,” says Duncan Edwards. “It’s like they are concentrating on United getting yellow and red cards. Thankfully for now, Trippier’s ‘you’ve got to be cute to win’ is lagging well behind ‘you’d better be clinical’.”
Are they any worse than the other big teams? I don’t scrutinise these things enough to have a strong opinion; iit’s not something you can quantify either I guess.
47 min And now Antony curls straight at Karius from 20 yards.
46 min Fred has a half-chance after 20 seconds, but curls tamely wide from the edge of the area after being teed up by Rashford.
46 min A half-time change apiece. Newcastle bring on Alexander Isak for Sean Longstaff, which should means a switch to a 4-2-3-1, and Aaron Wan-Bissaka has replaced Diogo Dalot (who was on a yellow card) at right-back for Man Utd.
The Sky Sports studio at half-time
Mark Chapman Newcastle have had more possession, more shots, more touches in the opposition box…
Roy Keane Brilliant. Brilliant.
Mark Chapman … better xG, and yet Manchester United lead.
Roy Keane Well that’s brilliant, that’s why we love top-level sport. Newcastle have done really well… but then Man United were very efficient.
Updated
Half-time reading
On the second goal, Karius had gone down early in an attempt to anticipate Rashford’s low shot across goal, which meant he wasn’t able to get enough spring to push the ball over the bar. I suppose it was a mistake, though I certainly wouldn’t call it a howler.
Updated
I didn’t give Luke Shaw enough credit for his part in Casemiro’s goal. His free-kick was immaculate, curled between the goalkeeper and defenders at a perfect height for Casemiro (or whoever) to meet eight yards from goal.
“Seeing the replay, Joelinton went in off the ball on Antony then - separately - grabbed Casemiro by the neck,” says Adam Roberts. “Why is he still on the pitch?”
The first one was petulant but it wasn’t a yellow card (IMO).
Newcastle will like they’ve been sucker-punched. They were slightly the better team for most of a scruffy first half, but Casemiro’s header and Sven Botman’s unfortunate own goal have left them facing another Wembley defeat. Manchester United were nowhere near the best; when Casemiro’s on the field, you don’t always need to be.
Half time: Man Utd 2-0 Newcastle Utd
Peep peep!
45+4 min Antony makes Burn look foolish, not once but twic, with a bit of showboating on the right. An unimpressed Joelinton whacks the loose ball againsat Antony, then fouls Casemiro and is booked.
45+4 min: Good save by Karius! Antony produces a lovely flick to find Casemiro, who curls an early pass down the right wing towards Weghorst. He galumphs infield, ignores Rashford’s run and whacks a left-foot shot from 25 yards that is tipped over by the flying Karius. A good save, albeit one he would expect to make.
Updated
45+3 min Five minutes of added time by the way.
45+2 min Fred, who has been booked, is again late on Longstaff, who yelps with pain. The Newcastle players want a red card, but there wasn’t that much in it. Longstaff got to a bouncing ball a split second before Fred, kicking through Fred’s boot as a consequence.
Updated
45+1 min Casemiro puts out another fire and then roars at the Manchester United fans. He is quite magnificent, possibly United’s best midfielder - and certainly their most influential - since Roy Keane.
Updated
45 min And here’s the second goal.
RASHFORDDD!! 👉🥶
— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) February 26, 2023
It had to be HIM! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/FGhvKMvi48
44 min Newcastle work a neat short corner on the right. Eventually Trippier lifts a cross to Burn, who flicks a header wide under pressure from Shaw. That was a chance, though Shaw did well to ensure Burn was off balance as he made contact.
Updated
43 min Here’s the opening goal from Casemiro.
CASEMIRO!! 🇧🇷
— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) February 26, 2023
LIFT OFF AT WEMBLEY!! MANCHESTER UNITED LEAD!! 🔴 pic.twitter.com/tP3nznAnOQ
42 min Poor Lorius Karius probably should have done better on the goal, though in his defence it took a pretty odd deflection. He was like a batter trying to hook a slower bouncer and mistimed his attempt to paw the ball away.
41 min The scoreline is harsh on Newcastle, who have had 61 per cent of the possession and more shots (albeit most of them off target). That’s the game, I guess.
In fact, it’s an own goal. Rashford burst into the area, onto a cute little pass from Weghorst, and mishit a left-foot shot that deflected off Botman, six yards from goal, and looped over Karius.
Updated
GOAL! Man Utd 2-0 Newcastle (Botman own goal 39)
Out of nothing, Marcus Rashford makes it two!
Updated
38 min A clever free-kick from Newcastle. Trippier slides it down the side to Wilson, whose shot is blocked, and Almiron lifts the rebound over the bar from the edge of the area.
37 min Fred is booked for that tackle on Longstaff. Good refereeing from David Coote, who played the advantage because Newcastle were in a decent attacking position.
36 min Longstaff stays down after a late tackle from Fred. He’s okay now I think.
GOAL GIVEN! Man Utd 1-0 Newcastle
He was onside! For the umpteenth time this season, the naked eye came to a different conclusion to VAR.
Updated
It was a superb header by Casemiro, willed past Karius on the stretch from Shaw’s excellent free-kick. But I think it might be disallowed.
Updated
He might be offside…
GOAL! Man Utd 1-0 Newcastle (Casemiro 33)
Casemiro heads Manchester United into the lead!
Updated
33 min Rashford, hitherto quiet, is flattened on the left wing by Guimaraes. Free-kick to Manchester United, from which…
Updated
32 min: Good save by de Gea! Longstaff drives a fantastic cross that flashes along the six-yard box and reaches Saint-Maximin on ther left side of the area. He beats Dalot with a glorious elastico-type trick and whips a shot from a tight angle that is beaten away by de Gea.
30 min Schar is back on the field, though he looks a bit groggy. I don’t want to grandstand, because I’m the opposite of an expert, but this season does seem to have confirmed that the current concussion protocols are inadequate. If only there was an easy solution, eh, Ifab.
28 min Schar and Martinez are still being treated, though they are both sitting up so there is no great alarm.
27 min “I remember that old Match magazines used to call the winning goal the one that puts the team into the winning position that they don’t subsequently lose,” says Andy Flintoff. “This would be the 3-2 ‘go-ahead goal’, or the first in a 2-0 victory. Under this criterion, Dan Burn didn’t get the winner, but Paddy Madden, who scored the first did, as Yeovil at no point lost the lead from that point.”
Well I’m really confused now. Also, under this system, what do we call Michael Thomas’s goal against Liverpool at Anfield in 1989? Was Alan Smith the real hero all along?
26 min Newcastle work the ball patiently on the right. Eventually Trippier clips a superb pass towards Schar, who heads over from six yards under pressure from Martinez. Schar kept going after starting the move.
Both players are down; I’m not sure whether it was a clash of heads or just a collision.
Updated
25 min “I get the impression Fred is much better being deployed in the flexible role you describe (6 or 8 depending) rather than the additional defender protecting Maguire and Lindelof,” says Colum Farrelly.
Yep. He also saves his best games for the toughest opposition. A very confusing player, as some bloke called me wrote the other day.
24 min Nothing’s happening. You call this a cup final, lads?
23 min It might be a false alarm – he’s walking to the touchline, looking a bit dazed but not injured. He’s back on the field now.
Antony also seems okay for the time being.
22 min Dreadful news for Newcastle – Bruno Guimaraes is down, and his body language suggests his game might be over.
Updated
19 min Antony is holding his groin, and not with affection. He may have to go off here.
18 min Casemiro marches confidently past Burn but then underhits his through pass to Rashford. Man Utd still look a bit sluggish, though there isn’t much in the game.
17 min Antony whips a typical long-range curler straight at Karius.
15 min “Surprised that no-one has mentioned that Dan Burn has a Wembley goal to his name,” says Tim Ray. “He scored the winner for Yeovil Town in the League One play off final in 2013.”
Ah, now, I’ve always wondered about this – if you score a goal that makes it 2-0, and the final score is 2-1, as with Burn in 2013, did you score the winning goal? Yes, obviously, but I do think there are two tiers of winning goals, with the highest being the last goal in a one-goal victory. The Solksjaguero, if you will. Yes you bloody will!
This is probably for another day, let’s be honest.
Updated
14 min Antony plays in the underlapping Dalot, whose superb cross on the turn is cut out by the sliding Schar in the six-yard box. Bruno Guimaraes then takes the rebound off Fred’s toes near the penalty spot.
13 min: Chance for Weghorst! A loose ball falls for Weghorst, back to goal near the penalty spot. He mistimes a left-foot shot on the turn that bobbles through to Karius. That wasn’t a bad opportunity.
Updated
12 min Manchester United haven’t got going yet. Jamie Carragher, co-commentating on Sky Sports, makes the point that a fast start was important for Newcastle to take advantage of any lethargy that Man Utd might be feeling after their exertions against Barcelona.
10 min “Get Chris Paraskevas to send a picture!” says Joe Pearson.
He did but, for reasons too boring to explain, it’s not possible to upload reader pics during a game.
9 min Dalot is booked for a cynical foul on Saint-Maximin. The Newcastle players all surrounded the referee but he was going to book him anyway.
I thought Aaron Wan-Bissaka would play today, with Saint-Maximin in mind. Now Dalot really does have a problem.
8 min I listed United’s team as 4-2-3-1 but it’s more of a hybrid 4-3-3, with Fred playing as a No6 or a No8 as the situation requires, and Bruno Fernandes flitting between No8 and No10. I’m surprised more hasn’t been written about these increasingly popular three-tier midfields.
7 min Burn’s long throw is flicked on by Joelinton and headed by Shaw. Newcastle have made a really fast start.
6 min Newcastle have started brightly. Saint-Maximin’s low ball across the edge of the area is about to met by the onrushing Guimaraes when Fred makes a vital interception. He’s hurt in the process but he’ll be fine.
5 min “It’s 2.30am here at Cheers Bar in Sydney and I am in full Magpie costume,” says Chris Paraskevas. “The body part of it is manageable temperature wise but the Magpie head (actually it was a crow costume that I’ve spray painted white...) is causing severe dehydration. No matter. We are in the first cup final in my lifetime. My mate also bought me a signed Shola Ameobi postcard as a gift tonight. HWTL!!! I’m off to order another pint...”
Drink responsibl- ah, forget it.
Updated
3 min Casemiro, Varane and Weghorst all surround Karius at the corner, but it’s cleared at the near post and Newcastle break. Almiron runs 50 yards but then plays a poor ball that is cut out on the edge of the area by Shaw.
2 min Weghorst plays a good first-time pass to release Rashford on the left. He plays an early ball into the area, trying to find either Antony or Fernandes, and Burn gets there first to concede a corner.
1 min Loris Karius has a comfortable first touch, collecting an overhit ball forward.
1 min Peep peep! Bruno Fernandes gets the Carabao Cup final under way.
We’ve already had one big cup game today, this one in the women’s FA Cup.
Now the players intermingle behind a ‘Football Stands Together’ sign in support of those in Ukraine.
Updated
The players are standing for the national anthem, which is a good time to remind you of the teams.
Manchester United (4-2-3-1ish) de Gea; Dalot, Varane, Martinez, Shaw; Casemiro, Fred; Antony, Fernandes, Rashford; Weghorst.
Substitutes: Lindelof, Maguire, Malacia, Sabitzer, Heaton, Sancho, Wan-Bissaka, McTominay, Garnacho.
Newcastle (4-3-3) Karius; Trippier, Schar, Botman, Burn; Longstaff, Guimaraes, Joelinton; Almiron, Wilson, Saint-Maximin.
Substitutes: Lascelles, Ritchie, Targett, Isak, Manquillo, Murphy, Willock, Gillespie, Anderson.
Manchester United fans lend their voice before kick-off.
The black and white end inside Wembley:
Updated
In other news, Erik ten Hag had dinner with Sir Alex Ferguson this week.
Teams
Marcus Rashford starts for Manchester United. And Loris Karius is in goal for Newcastle.
🚨 TEAM NEWS 🚨
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) February 26, 2023
Here it is: your United XI for the #CarabaoCup final... 🔴🔥#MUFC
Your team for the #CarabaoCupFinal! ✊
— Newcastle United FC (@NUFC) February 26, 2023
HOWAY NEWCASTLE! ⚫️⚪️ pic.twitter.com/hxZh0c2vHO
Updated
Man Utd v Newcastle, aka Qatar (*) v Saudi Arabia
The only league meeting between the teams this season was a 0-0 draw at Old Trafford, when Man Utd were frustrated by Newcastle’s defensive excellence (and time management), and both were frustrated by the referee.
I managed a distressingly low 15/20. Et tu?
Preamble
Hello and welcome to live, minute-by-minute coverage of the Carabao Cup final. I’m sure you’ve heard the latest score: Manchester United 6-54 Newcastle United. That’s how many years it has been, respectively, since these giant clubs won their last trophy. For one – but only one – the wait will end at Wembley today.
The trophy drought means that the Carabao Cup is a glorious end in itself, and today will be a snobbery-free occasion. But these renascent clubs also want it to be a stepping stone – the first of many trophies in a bright new era, just as it was for Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea (2005), Sir Alex Ferguson’s last great United team (2006) and Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City (2018). There’s a reason Brian Clough cherished the Anglo-Scottish Cup: the first trophy opens different neural pathways for an emerging team.
The final has come at the perfect time for Man Utd, who are bang in form and high on life under Erik ten Hag. Their stirring win over Barcelona on Thursday heightened the feeling that, for the first time since Sir Alex Ferguson retired 10 years ago, something brilliant is happening at Old Trafford.
Newcastle have lost their way a little since qualifying for the final, with two draws and a defeat in the Premier League. They will also be without Nick Pope through suspension, which is probably the most compelling of all today’s subplots. But the irreplaceable Bruno Guimaraes will return from suspension, and Newcastle’s players – some of whom won’t be around for the next big final – know that this is their chance to become immortal. Question 4: name the starting XI that won Newcastle’s first major trophy since 1969.
Napoli are the only team across Europe’s big five leagues who have suffered fewer defeats in all competitions than Newcastle. Don’t be surprised if this goes to extra-time, maybe penalties.
Kick off 4.30pm.
