Newcastle beat Liverpool in League Cup final for 1st trophy in 56 years

Newcastle United captured the first League Cup in their history Sunday following a 2-1 win over runaway Premier League leaders Liverpool.

Boyhood Newcastle fan Dan Burn gave his team the lead near the end of the first half before Alexander Isak doubled its advantage in the 52nd minute. Liverpool substitute Federico Chiesa scored in added time, but Eddie Howe's side was rarely under serious pressure at Wembley.

Newcastle's committed display earned them their first piece of silverware since the 1969 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup and their first major domestic trophy since the 1955 FA Cup final.

Liverpool, meanwhile, are strolling toward their 20th English top-flight title. But some onlookers were tipping Arne Slot's men for an unprecedented quadruple at the start of February before their FA Cup elimination to Plymouth Argyle, Tuesday's Champions League exit at the hands of Paris Saint-Germain, and now their surprise League Cup defeat to Newcastle.

Burn's aerial dominance over Alexis Mac Allister during corner kicks eventually proved costly for Liverpool when the towering defender excellently headed into the bottom corner. Newcastle took a deserved one-goal lead into the break.

"We couldn't believe Dan Burn scored - he didn't train like that! He was a colossus for us," Howe said post-match, per BBC Sport.

Isak was denied a goal when a VAR review confirmed he strayed offside by inches before poking the ball into the net following another corner. However, he doubled Newcastle's advantage under two minutes later. Jacob Murphy nodded Tino Livramento's delivery across goal, and Isak hit a slick first-time finish past Caoimhin Kelleher.

Curtis Jones' smash from around 15 yards forced an incredible save from Nick Pope in the 59th minute, but Liverpool - 12 points clear at the top of the Premier League table and 23 points better off than sixth-placed Newcastle - played well below their best. Newcastle outdid the strong favorites with a battling team display and almost made it 3-0 when Kelleher pushed away Isak's close-range volley.

Liverpool scored in the 94th minute, with Chiesa slipping the ball into the corner of the net after Harvey Elliott's pass caught out a briefly disorganized Newcastle backline. The goal was initially disallowed before Chiesa was declared onside following video review.

But the Magpies, who seemed to feed off the energy of the traveling Toon Army, saw out the final minutes with relative ease. Joelinton best demonstrated how keen he and his teammates were for the fight by celebrating tackles and urging for even more noise from the black-and-white half of Wembley.

Newcastle beat Nottingham Forest, AFC Wimbledon, Chelsea, Brentford, Arsenal, and Liverpool on their victorious League Cup run.

"When you have been without a trophy for so long, it can be in the back of your head. Hopefully, it is brighter days ahead," Isak told Sky Sports, according to The Guardian's John Brewin.