AliousOn March 16, 2025, Newcastle United finally ended their 56-year trophy drought with a commanding 2-1 triumph over Liverpool at Wembley—a scoreline that arguably flattered the Reds.
Strikes from towering defender Dan Burn and sharpshooter Alexander Isak gave the Magpies a comfortable two-goal cushion that rarely seemed in jeopardy until Liverpool mounted a late, desperate surge.
Newcastle had already been denied once earlier when a goal was controversially ruled out for offside, but Isak brushed off the setback, finding the net just two minutes later.
Liverpool’s fortunes flipped in the opposite direction: four minutes into second-half stoppage time, they thought they’d scored, only for the linesman’s flag to shoot up.
A prolonged VAR review followed—bafflingly so, given Federico Chiesa’s clear onside position—before the goal was eventually upheld. Former referee and Newcastle supporter Mark Clattenburg, speaking on The Overlap, argued that the drawn-out VAR process actually worked in Newcastle’s favor.
“VAR’s draining the joy out of football,” he said. “That Liverpool player should’ve been free to celebrate, even if he was more focused on rushing the ball back to restart. But that delay? It broke Liverpool’s momentum just as they were building pressure. Newcastle got a breather to reset—ironically, it helped them more than it did Liverpool.”
Looking back, the disallowed Isak goal still stings. Many argue it should’ve stood—Liverpool’s keeper, Caoimhin Kelleher, made the initial save, and the idea that he might’ve caught it instead of parrying it feels like a stretch.
Modern goalkeepers, Kelleher included, often push the ball away rather than secure it, a habit he displayed multiple times in that match even without pressure.
Still, the scales balanced out in the end. Whether that lengthy VAR call for Chiesa’s goal sapped Liverpool’s late rally is something only they can answer—but Newcastle fans aren’t losing sleep over it.
The result stands, and the silverware’s finally home.
Alious
