Newcastle trio Allan Saint-Maximin, Miguel Almiron and Callum Wilson will be ‘gutted’ with their performances in the 2-0 Carabao Cup final defeat to Manchester United at Wembley, former Premier League striker Dean Saunders tells talkSPORT (26 February, 7pm).
Nearly a quarter-of-a-century on from that FA Cup loss at the Wembley of Old – Teddy Sheringham and Paul Scholes accounting for one-third of Sir Alex Ferguson’s famous treble – those clad in black-and-white may have been left with a familiar feeling on the way back up north.
It was, for the most part, another case of ‘what might have been’. A performance while full of endeavour and intensity was lacking where it counts; David de Gea a relative spectator with Raphael Varane, Lisandro Martinez and Casemiro shielding the Man United goal with a ruthless, nerveless efficiency.
“I don’t like saying this, because they’ve been brilliant all season,” Saunders says. “But Saint-Maximin, Almiron and Callum Wilson today…
“If you asked them now; ‘How do you think you played today?’. They’d be gutted. The three of them. (They would say) ‘I’ve not really done what I can do’.”
Manchester United beat Newcastle 2-0 in the Carabao Cup final
Newcastle’s wait for a first major trophy in 67 years goes on; Casemiro showcasing the big-game nous that made him such a key cog in Real Madrid’s all-conquering machine by nodding home the opener from a fabulous Luke Shaw cross.
Marcus Rashford then netted the vital second just before half-time; racing onto a beautifully-weighted Wout Weghorst pass before slamming home via a substantial deflection off an unfortunate Sven Botman.
“It is a process,” Newcastle boss Eddie Howe sighs.
The contrast between the two dugouts stark as Erik ten Hag celebrated his first trophy since taking charge at Old Trafford (The Chronicle).
“We want to be here on a regular basis,” Howe adds. “There is a long way to go to be the team we want to be.
“I thought we were in it right until the end but the goal never came for us. We probably had the best chances at the start of the match.
“We can be proud of our performance but we were not clinical enough. As much as we didn’t want the final to be a distraction it has been. The players gave everything.”
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