Newcastle ready for big break but they need to keep playing “finals” until the end!
It doesn't matter what state Manchester United are in. It's United. They are "wounded". They are coming off a poor performance and defeat to City in the derby, in a game at Old Trafford. Everyone expected a reaction. And here comes Newcastle to prove that at the moment, they are superior. Qualification is big and the Magpies have every right to believe that their first title since 1969 is just around the corner. As long as they don't follow Arsenal's example 45 years ago in the League Cup. .
It's huge for Newcastle to beat Manchester United. It is a great achievement and obviously credit must be given to Eddie Howe and his colleagues.
Many, after watching this season's Premier League and the Red Devils' very poor start, will think that the expected happened at Old Trafford.
A superior team, at the moment from Manchester United, a more "tightly knit" team, which is in excellent form, went there and celebrated a great result.
However, how many people really expected Newcastle to go to that ground, three days after a 3-0 win over Manchester City in a Manchester derby, and get such a comfortable qualification? Very few! Because in these cases, the big team tends to react.
But that moment did not come for Erik Ten Hag's side, who for the first time in the 21st century lost two consecutive games at home by three, while in the first 11 games played at Old Trafford, they have trailed by more than 50% (six).
Beyond that, it would be good to dwell on Newcastle's achievement. They led 3-0 for the first time in their history at this stadium, they were serious and determined, they believed in their potential and dominated the pitch from the beginning until the end.
Almiron opened the scoring, Hall scored his first goal for the Magpies and Joe Willock put a perfect end to a magnificent display, leaving the Newcastle crowd impressed by a superb display from Eddie Howe's side.
The Magpies have achieved something unique in the 21st century League Cup: to eliminate both Manchester teams in the same competition without seeing their goal breached.
The last time something similar had happened, it was Nottingham Forest who had won the trophy, with Arsenal dominating Manchester. They had beaten Manchester United 3-2, had beaten City in double-headers and were eventually eliminated in double-headers, also by Liverpool, losing 2-1 at Anfield in February 1978.
But Newcastle have every right to believe that they won't have the same luck as the Gunners. They are slowly "paving the way" in the Premier League and Europe, they are learning from their results, they were not affected by the defeat against Borussia Dortmund, as their performance was good and they celebrated a very big result, which gives them room to dream.
Last year, they came close to their first title since 1969, this year they got an unofficial rematch against United, knocking them out of League Cup contention. Of course, they still have a big challenge ahead of them, as they will be welcomed by Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
If they can overcome that hurdle, they clearly have a strong chance of winning, with Liverpool, who will likely eliminate West Ham at Anfield, the only opponent that could... scared. Realistically though, Newcastle are here again.
They manage all kinds of events perfectly, they are consistent, they are serious and determined and at the end of the day... Why not?
