Can Newcastle overcome weight of history to win?

A Carabao Cup trophy may mean more to the Toon than Liverpool but often these games go to those who want it least

- MIGUEL DELANEY

By the early hours of Wednesday morning, Arne Slot was already thinking about ways to subtly recondition Liverpool’s focus. He wanted to make sure the players seamlessly went from the disappointment of Wednesday in the Champions League to seizing the opportunity today in the Carabao Cup final.

There were no such necessities for Newcastle United. They’ve been gearing up to this for weeks because they’ve been waiting for such an opportunity for years. The disappointment of the 2023 final defeat to Manchester United only sharpens that anticipation. Bruno Guimaraes even made the surprising admission that today’s appointment at Wembley had been “a little bit” of a distraction.

“Of course we think about the final, it’s massive for the club’s history,” he said. “We want to be part of it and make that history.”

That went against usual football diplomacy, where players talk of only focusing on the next game, but that’s perhaps part of the charm. It’s also part of the strange dynamics of these occasions, that at once enrich football but can also make it so emotionally wrenching.

When you have meetings like this, they tend to be won by the team that wants it least. Liverpool have bigger concerns, after all, and many of these players won the Carabao Cup last year.

Many at Newcastle United can’t remember winning any trophy at all. Nobody needs reminding that it is 56 years since the club lifted the old Fairs Cup, which was the Europa League’s forerunner, and 70 since the FA Cup. You can sense the yearning. The joy would be a sight to behold, beyond any emotion even Liverpool’s supporters would produce in this instance. The Anfield crowd could possibly compare the feeling to their own 30-year wait for a league title. Put simply, it would mean more.