Newcastle United are in the EFL Cup final; and that means their fans can head to Wembley for the first time since 1999 when they meet Manchester United in the 2023 Cup showdown.
Wembley way will see waves of black and white decorated with the red of Manchester United as the hoards from the North invade the capital in search of the first silverware of the year. And for the Geordies they have a chance to win a first major competition (outside the second tier championship) since 1955 when they won the FA Cup by beating Manchester City in the final. The EFL Cup 2023 betting odds reckon Erik Ten Hag’s Manchester United have the edge but this is set up to be one of the best finals in years.
Of course Manchester United have won countless trophies since 1955, but in recent years but the youngest generation of Red Devils have had slim pickings as, in the past decade, United have won one FA Cup, one League Cup and one Europa League, so this is a rare chance for them to pick up a trophy as well. It’s going to be an incredible occasion when the two Uniteds meet on Sunday 26th February and one the fans of Newcastle, in particular, will not forget.
Newcastle 2-1 Southampton
(Newcastle win 3-1 on aggregate)
Before a ball was kicked this was the more balanced of the two semi-final ties, with the Magpies starting with just a one goal advantage and the Saints beginning to look more competitive in recent weeks, dumping Manchester City out of the competition in the quarter finals with a superb display. But this was Newcastle’s night and Sean Longstaff ended any doubts of an anticlimax on Tyneside when he bagged an early double to make it 3-0 on aggregate. The midfield star was clinical with both finishes as he converted crosses from Kieran Trippier and Miguel Almiron to put the game beyond the visitors.
Saints striker Che Adams cut the deficit to two when he fired home a beauty from outside the penalty area in one of the most spectacular EFL Cup 2023 highlights of the week, but the home crowd never stopped singing as the hosts comfortably saw the game out. Eddie Howe’s best signing, alongside keeper Nick Pope, has been attacking midfielder Bruno Guimaraes, but he was red carded for a horrible late challenge on Samuel Edozie though, crucially, he won’t be missing for the final.
The Saints are in a relegation scrap and they will put this disappointment behind them when they visit Brentford on Saturday. But Tuesday was Newcastle’s night and they can now look forward to a scintillating Wembley final.
Manchester United 2-0 Nottingham Forest
(Manchester United win 5-0 on aggregate)
The Red Devils shook off the disappointment of losing a huge league game to Arsenal last week by beating Reading 3-1 in the fourth round of the FA Cup. And this was another golden opportunity to move towards some silverware success. And, in all honesty nobody really expected Nottingham Forest to spring a surprise on Wednesday night.
Manchester United bossed the first half but were almost caught out on the half hour, when Brennan Johnson broke free on the left and forced a strong save from Tom Heaton, though a square ball to Sam Surridge would probably have produced a goal. And then Surridge was unlucky again when he blocked a goal bound effort from Emmanuel Dennis.
It looked like United were going through the motions, but they came within a whisker of scoring when Wout Weghorst headed a sublime Casemiro cross onto the post.
Ten Hag made three changes on the hour, bringing on Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Anthony Martial; and it was Martial who made the breakthrough, on 73 minutes, slamming the ball home after a sweeping move started by the excellent Casemiro. And then three minutes later Fred rounded off another superb move to make it 2-0 on the night. Bruno Fernades swung in a perfect cross for Rashford who was waiting at the back post and he put it on a plate for the Brazilian.
Like Southampton, Nottingham Forest are in a battle to preserve their Premier League survival and they host Leeds United on Sunday. But United are through to their tenth EFL Cup final and are the SBOTOP favourites to win the 2022/23 tournament. But they’ll have to play better than they did tonight to beat the Geordies.
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