Gary Neville was full of praise for Newcastle United’s “special” Carabao Cup win, explaining what impressed him so much about Eddie Howe’s trophy-winning Mags.
Newcastle were the better team on the day at Wembley and have rightly earned the credit received after ending their 70-year domestic trophy drought with a commanding win over Arne Slot’s Liverpool.
Manchester United legend and Sky Sports presenter Neville made a smart observation about the Toons approach to the important day that hasn’t been mentioned too much.
Newcastle got the correct balance between passion and emotion as they wrote their name into the history books last Sunday, according to Neville.
To a man the Lads were a credit to the shirt despite the importance of the occasion. Liverpool’s midfield has been sensational this season in the Reds title charge, but there was an element of control to Newcastle’s performance that has rarely been seen against Slot’s side.
Neville pointed that out too, read the full quote below:
“They gave Liverpool a real going over in every single way. Obviously the emotion of the occasion, I even felt quite emotional when that second goal went in. I don’t know why!
“It’s 50 odd minutes and you knew there’s a long way to go and I expected Liverpool to come back, but the way in which Newcastle applied themselves in that game.
“The way in which they went about it. They were brave in every thing they did, yeah they did win duels, they did win second balls, they did play forward, they did compete and run and harass and did everything.
“In midfield they really ran all over Liverpool, which I’ve not seen happen too many times. I actually thought they even played well on the ball, I thought Tonali and Guimaraes really handled the ball well. It was a brilliant performance it really was and they were right at it.
“They got that balance right between passion and emotion, and playing with their heads because that was the question before the game: ‘Could Newcastle play with their heads? Would they get carried away?’
“This expectation of 70 years, honestly it was a really special day and it was a special performance. They played really well.”
Bruno Guimarares and Sandro Tonali were both namechecked by Neville as being key to Newcastle’s success on Sunday, but Joelinton’s performance shouldn’t go unmentioned when discussing the midfield.
The pair mentioned by the pundit did dictate the pace of the play moreso, but Joelinton’s controlled aggression set the tempo and added to the feeling that we were going to play our game.
Famed for being firm in a challenge, shall we say, the Brazilian restrained himself but remained brave in the centre of the park at Wembley. On and off the ball, in fact, the 28-year-old didn’t over commit.
Joelinton’s story of success on Tyneside is a remarkable one. From £40m flop to fan favourite and a standout performer in a cup final is a credit to the man, and to Eddie Howe who reimagined him into a combative midfielder.
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