(Casemiro 33′, Botman 39′ and)
WEMBLEY STADIUM. Immediately after the end of the hour, there was a 20-second period that typified the 2023 Carabao Cup final. Allan Saint-Maximin tested the pass across the field with Inspector Gadget’s leg extension and began to play pranks on the other cornerback.
Half of Wembley, black and white and far from home, turned their constant hum into a roar. By this point, Saint-Maximin had held the ball for too long, making a pass to the knee of Manchester United, and the Red Shirts were extinguishing the danger, as if they were trampling on the embers of a fire.
For much of the final, Newcastle were in just that mode: promising outbursts as they quickly got out of trouble, played in midfield or channeled to Saint-Maximin or Callum Wilson. And then, as soon as someone did what most of the Newcastle players did between August and December, everything collapsed.
They even stood a better chance, at least to the point of desperation: Dan Byrne’s headbutt, which left him confused because he couldn’t see the 30,000 happy faces in front of him; Saint-Maximin’s shot masterfully blocked by the left hand of David de Gea; frequent block shots, quick shots and instant shots that are performed by the most disciplined opponents.
This is the Newcastle that we will soon learn to expect. Industry, clean passing and penetrating into the penalty area are all there, but the goals have dried up. In the last seven league matches, Eddie Howe’s team has scored 97 shots and scored three goals. To stay in the top four and beat Manchester United in the final, things have to get better.
This is the final, and in the final, only the result decides. We won’t be talking about fortune or fate, but simply the determination that Manchester United showed by taking the pressure off and the efficiency they showed by winning the final without even getting close to their best results. They scored from a set piece, terrible lighting and an own goal. And then they killed the game, killing any possibility of further intrigue.
This, of course, is a quality in itself, and Erik ten Hag surprised us with it. We understood that his team would try not to press the ball and therefore would watch it, but this team has a street, prickly, sometimes unpleasant component that their fans really lacked. If, because of this, they do not sympathize with their opponents and rivals at home and abroad, this is a thousand times better than sympathy or paternalism.
The personification of the spirit is Ten Hag himself Lisandro Martinez – a warrior and a gremlin. He kicks you in the shin, claims you started it, then winks and hugs you when it’s over. He’s the kind of player that fans fall in love with and he loves it back. Place Casemiro in front of him, and you will have an axis around which everything else is built. Rashford may score goals, but it is the defensive foundation on which great palaces are built.
Football fans know how not to let the result spoil the rest of the day; in the case of Newcastle, it lasts the entire weekend. They arrived in the capital of the country as a mass migration of zebras. A few lucky ones or thousands of the most dedicated were armed with tickets. Others came armed, hoping to find him. The rest just came for the experience. “Tell me, mother, that I’m not home for tea,” they sang. “I’m going to Wemberley.”
They hoped, of course; otherwise they wouldn’t be here. But this was not the fuel for the journey, the elusive force that carried it through King’s Cross station and seeped it for miles of pubs and pubs. They waited almost 25 years to visit Wembley when it was still twin towers and faded stone. They sang their songs in injury time when the game ended. Well, let’s keep our fingers crossed that their league season doesn’t slip away.
Ten Hag is now at least a season ahead of schedule. An EFL Cup win is no sign of Manchester United’s poor health, although the longest trophy drought in over 40 years is over. But it’s not about trophies or even victories.
There’s a spirit in United, an atmosphere that they won’t walk away without a fight again. This is best seen in Casemiro and Martínez, two players who, using Eric Canton’s analogy, entered with their collars up, their backs straight and their chests puffed out as if they were kings.
Source: I News
I’m Dave Martin, and I’m an experienced journalist working in the news industry. As a part of my work, I write for 24 News Reporters, covering mostly sports-related topics. With more than 5 years of experience as a journalist, I have written numerous articles on various topics to provide accurate information to readers.