Newcastle ended their long wait for a trophy by beating Liverpool on Sunday and also halted a decade-long winless run against the Reds in the process, making a side with a 12-point lead at the top of the Premier League look more ordinary than almost anyone has managed this season.

Eddie Howe's team restricted Liverpool to a single shot before half-time and an xG of 0.89 overall to earn a convincing victory over Arne Slot's side in a tactical and physical masterclass at Wembley.

What did Newcastle do to stifle their opponents and win so comfortably - and what was sorely lacking from a team who have been the Premier League's runaway leaders?



Newcastle's effective press

In previous games against Liverpool this season Newcastle have looked to frustrate Liverpool and hit them on the break.

Three Liverpool players showed true class with what they did after Newcastle won Carabao Cup	'What I was hearing': Micah Richards says who was louder during the Carabao Cup final between Liverpool and Newcastle fans	Dan Burn reveals Newcastle's next steps after beating Liverpool to win the Carabao Cup

But coming up against a side who had gone the distance in midweek against PSG, with the physical and mental strain that entailed, Howe appeared to feel emboldened and sent his team out to take full advantage by pressing the Reds high.

That tested Liverpool's resolve, and whether down to a lack of confidence or fatigue - or more likely both - their response was to go long, with their proportion of long passes up almost 50 per cent on their average across the Premier League season.

Going direct in itself is not necessarily a problem, especially with the passing quality Liverpool possess - but not when they are hurried, forced by that Newcastle press and with the Reds lacking their normal composure.

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Salah had just one touch in the Newcastle box all game and did not register a shot across 90 minutes - he has had at least two in every Premier League game he has played in this season.

The Egyptian was not aided by the lack of any genuine width behind him in the absence of Trent Alexander-Arnold and Conor Bradley - with 45 per cent of Liverpool's attacks coming down their left flank.

That starved him of a source of possession and also stopped him from doubling up on Tino Livramento, who had a comfortable game at left-back and was rarely troubled by the 32-year-old.

Liverpool's most common passing combination was Virgil van Dijk feeding Andy Robertson on the other side 16 times throughout the 90 minutes - with the Scotsman completing almost double the number of final-third entries and passes compared to Jarell Quansah.

Liverpool's stubbornness from corners

The enduring question of the final was why Mac Allister was left to mark Dan Burn at corners even when it had already become obvious before his headed opener that this was an aerial mismatch with only one winner.

The giant Geordie connected with two corners, both back-post headers up against the Argentine 10 inches shorter than him, before it proved three strikes and out for Liverpool when Burn beat Caoimhin Kelleher with his next effort moments before the interval, as Howe and his coaching staff found an innovative way to disregard their opponents' best defenders.

"What they're doing with these corners is taking (Ibrahima) Konate and Van Dijk out of the game," said Sky Sports' Gary Neville.

Liverpool head coach Arne Slot reflects on his side's 2-1 loss to Newcastle in the Carabao Cup final and insists the midweek loss to Paris Saint-Germain did not impact their performance

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