The Great, The Good, and The Humbled #37: NUFC player ratings vs. Liverpool (n) [LCF]

It's Wednesday afternoon and we're still not entirely sure we're awake. Did we genuinely witness Newcastle United dominate and defeat Liverpool 2-1 in the Carabao Cup final on Sunday?

We still haven't fully recovered our voices either, despite the fact we saved the vast majority of our singing and shouting for inside Wembley. We don't know how people can keep it going for an entire weekend!

What a bloody day. The crowd turned up, the players turned up, the tactics were spot-on, and the Reds couldn't have complained if we'd won by two, three, or even four. They were lucky to get one!

Dan Burn was heroic, Joelinton played his best game in our colours, and Kieran Trippier rolled the years back with a truly special display. Tino Livramento was faultless, Fabian Schär stepped up when needed, and Nick Pope put the worries about him to bed with a commanding performance.

Sandro Tonali is probably still running now after a breathless showing, Harvey Barnes played his part and carried a threat throughout, while Jacob Murphy did what he does in getting an assist for the world-class Alexander Isak, who truly 'scores at every ground'. What a player our number 14 is, man.

And what about our captain? Forgiving him for a couple of exhausted turnovers in the last few minutes was extremely easy when we saw Bruno Guimarães' reaction at the final whistle. He gave everything he had to make our dreams come true and we hope he never leaves this place.

There were also essential cameos from Callum Wilson, Joe Willock, and Emil Krafth, while Eddie Howe enjoyed his finest day in our dugout, officially etching his name in history as our greatest manager of modern times. We're sorry we ever doubted him and can't thank him enough for the best weekend of our lives.

Let's get this rolling for real though, eh? Here's a very special edition of The Good, The Bad, and The Average. Welcome to The Great, The Good, and The Humbled, Carabao Cup final 2024/25 edition!

Serena Taylor / Newcastle United

The Great

Eddie Howe has now officially surpassed the legendary Kevin Keegan in our eyes. While it can never be understated what King Kev did for this football club and the region as both a player and manager, he could never grasp that elusive trophy and end the decades of hurt. Howe has followed KK's lead in terms of his manner and honesty but has finally broken the curse and brought silverware back to Tyneside. The crazy thing is that this is just the start, too, and the bloke hasn't been able to strengthen his squad for almost two years! He's the best English manager in the game and he's now got a strong argument for being the best manager in England outside of Pep Guardiola.

When Dan Burn's header hit the net thousands of grown men around Wembley burst into tears, such was the magnitude of the goal. That wonderful effort aside, he dominated the contest in both boxes and showed precisely why he's in Thomas Tuchel's England squad. We honestly couldn't have asked for a better first scorer and what a signing the big man from Blyth has been. His attitude is first-class, he's got a superb personality, and more importantly than that, he's turned into a top-quality central defender. He's living all of our dreams and making the most of it.

While not sharing Burn's ties to the region, we can't recall taking many players to our hearts more ferociously than Joelinton. The journey he's been on at this football club is nothing short of remarkable and Wembley felt like his masterpiece. He seemed to put the fear of God into those in red shirts with his relentless harrying and tackling and celebrated each of his defensive interventions like he'd scored a goal. He was responsible for driving the team forward plenty, too, and was hugely important from a tactical perspective, too. He's turned into a wonderful midfielder, there's nobody quite like him in world football.

We didn't have any doubts that Kieran Trippier still had displays like this in his locker. Had it not been for his well-publicised off-field issues, he'd never have lost his position in the first place. He bested the excellent Luis Diaz one-on-one, took a succession of wonderful corners, and seemed to play with a hamstring injury from about the 35th minute onwards. His emotion at the end of the game showed how much the trophy meant to him—his first in senior football in England—and the fact he insisted on Jamaal Lascelles sharing the honour of lifting the trophy with him and Bruno showed his class and professionalism.

On the opposite flank and like a few others in black and white, this was easily Tino Livramento's best game at the club. We're adamant that he's better at left-back than right-back and we knew he'd do a job on Mohamed Salah, but we didn't expect him to be such a huge weapon in attack as well. Freed up by Howe's tactics, the young full-back was responsible for setting the tempo for us in possession with his driving runs and his left-footed cross for Isak's goal was a thing of beauty. He didn't seem fazed at any point and is surely destined to go to the very, very top for NUFC and England.

What more can be written about Alexander Isak? We wouldn't want any other striker in world football leading our line and the fact he took the two real chances that came his way here showed exactly why he's such hot property. We're still not sure the first should've been chalked off, by the way, but it was and he bounced back within two minutes to guide the ball past Caoimhin Kelleher from Murphy's brilliant knockdown. He strikes the fear of God into the very best central defenders and if we can sign some more quality support for him this summer, there's surely no way he'll be leaving. Alan Shearer, he's coming for you!

Speaking of Jacob Murphy, aside from his now customary assist for Isak, he played a fantastic, calm game and exceeded our expectations. While we can always rely on him for a dangerous cross or a vicious shot, his contributions in possession are usually pretty weak and we worried the occasion would get the better of him. It certainly didn't, though, and he carried much of our threat during our most dangerous phases of the match. His celebration after that Isak goal was a thing of beauty and it was amazing to see how buzzing he was during the post-match procession, too.

We've been a bit critical of Sandro Tonali due to his sloppiness in possession in recent weeks, but he showed just how good he is on the biggest stage on Sunday. While Joelinton's energy was notable, we'd be surprised if he wasn't out-run by the Italian, who just never seemed to stop launching into full-on sprints to quel Liverpool attacks. We were huge fans of his shit-housing at the end, too, as he took responsibility for slowing the game down and keeping the ball in the corner to help us see the game out. He looked so chuffed at the final whistle, too, for someone who doesn't usually show much emotion.

Bruno Guimarães lifting a trophy in his first season as on-field captain was fitting for his overall time at St James'. What a bloody signing he has been. Nobody wears their heart on their sleeve more than our number 39 and to see what it meant to him at the end brought a tear to our eyes. We're not sure he'll be trying a Marseille Roulette in the centre circle when we're holding a 2-0 lead in a massive game anytime soon, though! We can forgive him that because he dominated Alexis Mac Allister otherwise and his leadership is a huge part of why we've been able to achieve something so massive.

After a few shaky performances, Fabian Schär put in a timely reminder of just why he's the best pound-for-pound signing in our recent history. He was hugely important tactically with his long passing to keep the pressure on Liverpool's backline, while his defending was pretty much faultless throughout. He made more defensive interventions than Burn and won 7/8 duels, while almost scoring one of the all-time goals when waltzing through three red shirts before unfortunately dragging his shot wide. The cup win seemed to mean the world to him, too. He's been a marvel since Howe's arrival.

For all the handwringing about his inclusion over Martin Dúbravka, Nick Pope showed exactly why Howe has so much faith in him with his display. The save from Curtis Jones was one of the most underrated we've ever witnessed, while his command from crosses and sweeper-keeping was back to its absolute top level. His kicking wasn't even that bad, either, with no heart-attack-inducing moments when the ball was played back to him. It's easy to forget he was the best goalkeeper in the division until that red card before the last final and hopefully, this was his redemption moment. Well played, big fella!

Last but by no means least from the starters comes Harvey Barnes. The biggest compliment we can pay him is that we didn't miss Anthony Gordon at all, who usually thrives in matches like this. Barnes carried a constant threat, defended diligently, and won the corner for the all-important first goal. He's got a great knack for being in the right place at the right time from an attacking perspective, which is huge in matches of this significance.

Off the bench came Callum Wilson and Joe Willock in the 81st minute, with both playing significant roles in helping us see the contest out after Federico Chiesa's shock goal in the 94th. Wilson's nouse was invaluable, though we'll never understand what he was doing to lose the ball to Dominik Szoboszlai in the dying stages, while Willock also stepped up to play his part in keeping the ball locked up in Liverpool's defensive third for the majority of added time. The pair of them have been here longer than most and it was nice to see them playing their parts.

Emil Krafth only featured for added time due to Murphy's cramp but was as reliable as ever when dropping into right-wing-back as Arne Slot chucked everything he had at us. He was composed in possession, carried the ball to relieve pressure, and couldn't be faulted for the consolation Liverpool scored.

We have to admit a part of us was dreading the Wembley 'experience' after how bad it was two years ago, but The Fans made us look silly with what they brought to the occasion. It felt significantly different around the capital this time compared to last, with a lot more focus on the game rather than getting pissed up and making a spectacle of ourselves at Trafalgar Square before becoming zombies when the game rolled around, and we're certain that had a huge impact on the performance. Wor Flags played their part tremendously as they always do, while Sela dishing out scarves to everyone made for some truly epic visuals throughout the day. Well done to everyone who intended and gave the lads full backing, we can be a very powerful force when we need to be! (How good was it to see Ant & Dec and Alan Shearer going as crackers as the rest of us, by the way!?)

Serena Taylor / Newcastle United

The Good

We haven't had good experiences with John Brooks this season, but we can't knock his performance here in the face of relentless whinging from Virgil van Dijk and company. He showed good strength to officiate the game in a balanced manner, got most of the big calls right, and tried to let the contest flow whenever possible. He probably favoured us, overall, but how could you blame him for wanting us to win?

Serena Taylor / Newcastle United

The Humbled

All we've heard since the semi-finals was how Liverpool were going to walk all over us, from both the media and a significant number of their supporters. Well it didn't quite turn out that way, did it? We dominated the Reds in the stands and on the pitch, with the only travesty of the day being how they managed to make it look like a tight match with their late consolation. They could have had zero complaints if we'd won 3-0 or 4-0 based on chances created, and to be fair to most of the Scousers we met after the whistle, they seemed to fully appreciate that. Oh, and how delightful was it to see that scumbag Jamie Carragher chewing wasps at the end as he had to suffer interview after interview with our jubilant players and staff? We don't have much against Liverpool, in all honesty, but we've owed them this one since the 4-3 back in '95.

Serena Taylor / Newcastle United

The Breakdown

It's a cliché to dish out 10s to everyone, but if we can't do it now when could we do it?

The XI

Nick Pope – 10

Kieran Trippier – 10

Fabian Schär – 10

Dan Burn – 10 ⭐️

Tino Livramento – 10

Bruno Guimarães – 10

Sandro Tonali – 10

Joelinton – 10

Jacob Murphy – 10 (off 90')

Alexander Isak – 10 (off 81')

Harvey Barnes – 10 (off 81')

The Subs

Callum Wilson – 10 (on 81')

Joe Willock – 10 (on 81')

Emil Krafth – 10 (on 90')

The Gaffer

Eddie Howe – 10

The Opposition

Liverpool – 4

The Ref

John Brooks – 7

The Others

The Fans – 10

Wor Flags – 10

Sela – 10

Ant & Dec – 10

Alan Shearer – 10

Serena Taylor / Newcastle United

The Next

The international break couldn't have come at a better time, could it? We get 17 days to bask in the glory of Sunday evening and have a huge city centre celebration to look forward to on the 29th.

After that, though, it'll be back to business as Brentford arrive on Tyneside for a massive but untelevised Premier League game on Wednesday 2nd April at 7.45 p.m. (BST).

With 10 games left in the season we sit sixth, one place and one point behind the Champions League places, and still in with a realistic chance of finishing in the top three.

Would you bet against us after this?

HOWAY THE LADS!