Eddie Howe got his game plan spot on as Newcastle United beat Liverpool 2-1 in the Carabao Cup final.
It was hardly a perfect build-up to a cup final. Eddie Howe had to deal with Anthony Gordon being suspended after his red card, as well as injuries to Lewis Hall and Sven Botman.
Those three absences posed plenty of selection headaches for Howe. Tino Livramento starred for Newcastle after replacing Hall at left-back, and Harvey Barnes was equally as impressive as a stand-in for Gordon.
Howe changed Newcastle’s approach to the final, including keeping the squad in a hotel outside of London. He felt his players were “exhausted” before a ball was even kicked in the 2023 Carabao Cup final – that certainly wasn’t the case this time around.
Newcastle managed to avoid the cup final becoming a distraction, but Howe has now revealed that his side have been training one thing in particular for two weeks to prepare for Wembley.
Photo by Nigel French/Sportsphoto/Allstar via Getty Images
Photo by Nigel French/Sportsphoto/Allstar via Getty Images
Eddie Howe reveals Newcastle training that helped vs Liverpool
Newcastle were underdogs against Liverpool, but frankly the Magpies should have left Wembley as comfortable victors.
Dan Burn and Alexander Isak scored the all-important goals, but with 17 shots compared to Liverpool’s seven, it could have been even more on another day.
After the full-time whistle, Howe revealed that his Newcastle side had been focusing on improving their set pieces.
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“I am very very emotional and have been all day which is unlike me. We knew what was at stake for all of our fans. We wanted to do them proud and win the trophy.
“We were well aware of the history. We are breaking new ground and I thought we were magnificent today.
“We worked consistently for two weeks on set plays just for this game and if you had seen us in practice you would have said we had no chance. We couldn’t believe Dan Burn scored. He didn’t train like that! He was a colossus for us.”
Eddie Howe got his Carabao Cup final tactics spot on
Before the final, Howe was warned about his tactics, suggesting he must not rely on defensive tactics against Liverpool.
Howe’s tactics were questioned when Newcastle faced Liverpool in the Premier League after he experimented with Gordon up front alongside Callum Wilson.
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Thankfully, Isak was back for the final and Howe stuck to what Newcastle are best at – playing on the front foot with a high, energetic press.
Liverpool couldn’t handle Newcastle’s intensity and physicality across the pitch, and Howe deserves huge credit for getting the game plan spot on.