Mondays football briefing Newcastle end long wait and attention turns to internationals

Newcastle ended their 70-year wait for a domestic trophy as they beat Liverpool at Wembley to win the Carabao Cup.

Arsenal, Fulham and Manchester United all secured wins in the Premier League, while Rangers claimed an Old Firm triumph over Celtic.

In the Women’s Super League, a basement battle between Crystal Palace and Aston Villa saw the Eagles come out on top.

Newcastle end trophy drought

Newcastle’s long wait for a trophy is over after they beat Liverpool 2-1 at Wembley in the Carabao Cup final.

Local lad Dan Burn headed the Magpies into the lead before the break and Alexander Isak struck seven minutes after the interval to clinch victory, despite substitute Federico Chiesa’s late goal.

Victory at Wembley was their first domestic trophy since the 1955 FA Cup – and first major piece of silverware since the 1969 Inter Cities Fairs Cup – and boss Eddie Howe is hoping the club can be in the mix for more trophies in the future.

He said: “Hopefully one can become more – there’s no guarantee, though – but I just think it proves we can do it.

“I’ve never had any doubts about our ability to lift our game but you don’t get many shots at this, you don’t get many shots at a cup final, and today we had to try to take our opportunity.

“Now the challenge for us is to try to get there more often, as in lifting our game like we did today.”

Rangers claim Old Firm bragging rights

Substitute Hamza Igamane scored a late winner to secure Rangers a 3-2 win at Celtic as away fans were allowed inside Parkhead for an Old Firm game for the first time since 2023.

Gers led 2-0 at half-time thanks to goals from Nico Raskin and Mohamed Diomande but Celtic levelled through Daizen Maeda and Reo Hatate.

However, Rangers recovered their composure and Igamane earned them a first win at Celtic Park since 2020.

Arsenal return to winning ways

Arsenal ended their three-game winless run in the Premier League with a 1-0 victory over Chelsea.

Mikel Merino headed in the only goal as the Gunners moved 12 points behind Premier League leaders Liverpool.

It marked a fifth Premier League goal for makeshift striker Merino.

And Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta said: “The way he’s approaching it is incredible.”

Palace boost survival hopes

Crystal Palace’s hopes of Women’s Super League survival were given a huge boost after they beat fellow strugglers Aston Villa 3-1.

The bottom-of-the-table Eagles took the lead through Aniek Nouwen and Ashleigh Weerden, but Villa threatened to stage a late comeback when Lucy Parker pulled one back in the 85th minute.

However, Katie Stengel made the game safe in stoppage time to hand Palace only their second league win of the season and move them one point behind Villa.

What’s on today?

Top-level club action takes a breather as the first international break of 2025 takes place.

Players will be linking up with their respective national teams on Monday ahead of this week’s World Cup qualifiers, Nations League play-offs and friendlies, with Dan Burn set to report for England duty for the first time hours after his Wembley heroics.

Nottingham Forest midfielder Morgan Gibbs-White will also be among those arriving at St George’s Park after he was added to Thomas Tuchel’s first England squad on Sunday.

Published: 17/03/2025 by Radio NewsHub