LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Newcastle ended their 56-year trophy drought in stunning style as Dan Burn and Alexander Isak sealed a 2-1 win against Liverpool in the League Cup final on Sunday.

Eddie Howe’s side made history at Wembley with a superb display that left the runaway Premier League leaders shell-shocked.

Burn put Newcastle ahead late in the first half and Isak’s 27th goal in all competitions doubled their lead after the interval.

Federico Chiesa got one back in the closing seconds, but Newcastle held on for their first major silverware since the 1969 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup.

That success in the predecessor to the Europa League is a relic of a bygone era, but this long-awaited triumph will be forever etched in the memories of the Newcastle fans who turned one half of Wembley into a roiling sea of black and white with their ecstatic celebrations.

It was also Newcastle’s first major domestic prize dating back 70 years to the 1955 FA Cup.

Since the Magpies lifted the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, 30 different English teams had won silverware, while Liverpool had clinched 38 major trophies in that time.

But after losing the 2023 League Cup final against Manchester United, Howe’s team returned to Wembley and set the record straight at last.

“We were well aware of the history and we wanted to do the club proud. We wanted to score, we wanted to perform and we wanted to win,” Howe said.

“We are breaking new ground. I thought we were magnificent today.”

Newcastle had endured five relegations to the second tier since their last trophy, with club legends like Alan Shearer, Paul Gascoigne and Malcolm MacDonald failing to win silverware in their time on Tyneside.

Aside from a brief period when Kevin Keegan’s self-styled “entertainers” challenged for the title in the 1990s, Newcastle have endured decades of underachievement and self-inflicted wounds that rendered them a laughing stock for long periods.

All that changed in 2021 when a Saudi-backed consortium completed a takeover from unpopular owner Mike Ashley and quickly hired Howe as their manager.

Thanks to Howe’s astute leadership and the Saudi financial backing, Newcastle have been transformed from relegation candidates to silverware winners.

The defeat was another painful blow for Liverpool just days after their Champions League last 16 exit on penalties against Paris Saint-Germain.

But despite failing to win their first trophy under boss Arne Slot, Liverpool still sit 12 points clear at the top of the Premier League, within touching distance of a record-equalling 20th English title.

“It’s a very disappointing result. The game went the way Newcastle wanted it. They deserved to win. We were out-played in their style. They won more aerial duels than us,” Slot said.

– History for Newcastle –
Liverpool are 23 points ahead of sixth-placed Newcastle in the league and hadn’t lost to them for 17 games dating back to 2015.