Carabao Cup final player ratings: Salah goes missing while local hero Burn is perfect

Mohamed Salah looks unhappy — Mohamed Salah had a disappointing afternoon at Wembley - Getty Images/Chris Brunskill

Newcastle United ended their 70-year wait for a domestic trophy by beating Liverpool 2-1 in the League Cup final at Wembley on Sunday.

Dan Burn and Alexander Isak scored for Eddie Howe’s team as they blew Arne Slot’s side away before Federico Chiesa’s injury-time goal made for a nervy finish.

Here is how Telegraph Sport rated each player:

Liverpool

Caoimhin Kelleher

Previously a League Cup specialist, Dan Burn and Alexander Isak succeeded where Chelsea failed in 2022 and 2024. The Irishman was helpless with the goals.
5/10

Jarell Quansah

Filling Alexander-Arnold’s boots was always a challenge. When he lost a race with Joelinton in the first half, the Newcastle man’s celebrations summed up the difference in intensity between the teams.
5/10

Virgil van Dijk

Looked exasperated as his midfield was outrun and outfought when the game was lost in the first hour, meaning his long balls became increasingly frequent. His wait for a second trophy lift goes on.
6/10

Ibrahima Konate

It felt like Konate and Van Dijk versus Newcastle for 44 minutes. He was one of the few Liverpool players who turned up from the first whistle, but was sacrificed with his side two-down.
6/10

Andrew Robertson

Tried to get Liverpool going with his trademark overlapping run early in the second half, but then beaten in the air by Murphy for Isak’s goal. One of the better Liverpool players on the day, but it was a low bar.
6/10

Ryan Gravenberch

Has looked knackered for weeks. The Dutchman looks like he is dragging himself through recent matches, the balletic poise of the first six months of the season absent. Moved to centre-half second half and then subbed.
5/10

Alexis Mac Allister

Newcastle targeted him to ensure he could not run the game as he did at Anfield recently. Mac Allister probably found the World Cup final an easier game than this. Subbed for Gakpo.
6/10

Mohamed Salah

The relief of not playing against PSG’s Nuno Mendes ought to have been a motivation, but Livramento looked like he had been studying videos from the Champions League shut-out. Barely involved.
5/10

Dominik Szoboszlai

Always praised for his running. Needs more praise for creating and scoring. The bar is high when you wear Liverpool’s No 8 shirt in a final. He came up short on this occasion.
5/10

Luis Diaz

His duel with Trippier was a key battleground. The right-back comfortably stopped the first dribble and set the theme of the first half. In truth, Trippier was all over him.
5/10

Diogo Jota

Way off the pace, but not helped by Liverpool expecting him to win high balls as if he was John Toshack heading on to Kevin Keegan in 1974. Subbed early.
4/10

Substitutes
Nunez (Jota 57)
Chiesa (Gravenberch 74)
Jones (Konate 57)
Gakpo (Mac Allister 67)
Elliott (Diaz 74)

Newcastle

Nick Pope

There is a reason Eddie Howe picked him over Martin Dubravka and it was the second-half save he made to deny Szoboszlai. Commanded his area well and alert when he needed to be.
7/10

What a save, Nick Pope! 🧤 pic.twitter.com/Va2vt4VHKL
— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) March 16, 2025

Kieran Trippier

The old warrior rolled back the years with a wily performance at right-back. Rock solid defensively it was his excellent corner that created the first goal for Dan Burn and it was his tackle that began the move for the second.
9/10

Fabian Schar

He has always been a classy footballer, just one who makes a few too many mistakes for people to fully appreciate how good he can be. This was Schar at his very best. A cup winner, he instantly becomes one of the greatest centre-backs in the club’s history.
8/10

Dan Burn

What a performance from the boyhood Newcastle United fan. He played like the little boy he once was would have demanded. Magnificent at both ends of the pitch. A truly sensational performance from someone who knew exactly what this meant.
10/10

"It's the boy from Blyth!"

A bullet header from Dan Burn! 💥 pic.twitter.com/TWjNryvqeu
— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) March 16, 2025

Tino Livramento

He is a right-back playing at left-back, but probably delivered his most dynamic display of the season. It was his cross that led to the second goal and he snuffed out Mo Salah.
9/10

Bruno Guimaraes

This has not been his best season in a Newcastle shirt and he has looked a little out of form, but the captain delivered a performance befitting of a Brazil international at Wembley. He is the first Newcastle captain to lift a domestic trophy in 70 years.
8/10

Sandro Tonali

The man who never stops running. The Italy international was everywhere in the first half and did an excellent job of protecting the defence in the second. What a signing he has been. A class act.
9/10

Joelinton

A one-man wrecking ball in the centre of Newcaste’s midfield he repeatedly broke up Liverpool attacks and helped whip up the crowd in the process. There is a reason he has been recalled by Brazil and this was it.
10/10

Jacob Murphy

Can an unsung hero really be an unsung hero when they keep delivering game-defining moments. Murphy is having the season of his life and popped up with yet another assist for Isak.
7/10

Alexander Isak

World-class players step up on the big occasion and Isak did just that. It was not his best all-round game but he scored the vital second goal, had another ruled out for offside and probably should have added a third. The best striker in the Premier League this season. 9/10

"Now they're BELIEVING!" 🎙️

Alexander Isak doubles the Newcastle lead at Wembley 🤯 pic.twitter.com/sUlyVIX5Ul
— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) March 16, 2025

Harvey Barnes

He is a different type of player to Anthony Gordon but the biggest compliment you can pay him is that Newcastle did not miss their star winger in the slightest.
8/10

Substitutes
Wilson (Isak 81)
Krafth (Murphy 90)
Willock (Barnes 81)

Referee: John Brooks (Leicestershire)

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