Newcastle United supporters can add this to that extraordinary victory over Paris Saint-Germain, those furious 21 minutes against Tottenham Hotspur, and the staggering eight separate scorers at Sheffield United.
Eddie Howe’s squad continue to confound, to inspire, and to create history. From reaching last season’s Carabao Cup final to qualifying for the Champions League, they are expediting their evolution.
This 3-0 humbling of a pitiful Manchester United was, in its own way, just as momentous. The 7,300-strong away end was left delirious, drunk and daring to dream of another Wembley weekend.
Chelsea away is the far-from-ideal quarter-final tie — draws have been anything but kind to Newcastle this season — but it should hold no fear for a team who have already knocked out the treble winners and now the holders.
Memories of February’s Carabao Cup final remain raw but, given the sheer gulf between the two sides at Old Trafford and the almost comedic nature of Manchester United’s capitulation, Newcastle will feel they have gone some way to partly avenging that painful loss.
Even if Howe’s first-choice side had delivered a victory at a ground that holds five decades’ worth of misery for Newcastle — this was just their second win at Old Trafford since 1972 — then that would have been defining.
But this was not, by any comprehensible measure, Newcastle’s strongest team.
Shorn of seven first-team players due to injury and suspension, seven of the selected XI had not started a single Premier League or Champions League match this season. More curiously, six of that XI have spent much of their careers as full-backs.
Advertisement
When the team news dropped, trepidation spread among supporters. At short notice, albeit out of necessity, these players appeared shoehorned into a system. In reality, it was a side that seemed neatly sewn together — one that provided Newcastle’s biggest winning margin at Old Trafford since a 7-4 triumph on September 13, 1930.
Even another early injury failed to derail them. Matt Targett, a left-back, was deployed as an emergency deep-lying midfielder for all of 80 seconds before a serious-looking hamstring strain forced him off.
A rapid reshuffle followed but, aside from the indefatigable midfield trio of Joelinton, back to his industrious best, Joe Willock, full of dynamic running and scorer of Newcastle’s third goal, and Sean Longstaff, who proudly captained his boyhood club for the evening, this setup was anything but conventional.
Anthony Gordon, who has excelled as a left-winger recently, was the stand-in striker. Matt Ritchie, who had not previously played a single minute this season, was on the right, while Miguel Almiron was deployed on the opposite flank to normal after being introduced for Targett.
In goal, Martin Dubravka played his club game of 2023-24, following a loan at Manchester United last season. That disappointing spell at Old Trafford, which brought just two Carabao Cup appearances, cup-tied Dubravka and cruelly robbed him of a Wembley runout for Newcastle after he returned in January. On his return to Manchester last night, Dubravka recorded a satisfying shutout. He faced just two shots on target.
Perhaps most impressive of all was the makeshift centre-half pairing of Emil Krafth, nominally a right-back, and Paul Dummett, who has spent much of his career at left-back. The pair were colossal in helping Newcastle keep a clean sheet. Dummett had played only once since August 2022 — he was also part of the defensive unit that prevented Manchester City from scoring in the previous round — and Krafth, who has battled back from a cruciate knee ligament injury, last made a first-team appearance 14 months ago.
Yet, if the unexpected teamsheet had understandably provoked some tongue-in-cheek recollections of former manager Alan Pardew’s apparent fondness for a full-back, the match-changing moments were supplied by the right-back and the left-back who were actually fielded in their favoured positions.
Tino Livramento, who excelled when shackling Jack Grealish in the previous round, comfortably marshalled Alejandro Garnacho from right-back. The 20-year-old defender robbed the Argentinian of possession in the 28th minute, powered forward from his own half to progress deep into opposition territory, before playing a delicious through ball for Almiron to finish well and set Newcastle on their way. He was outstanding.
Advertisement
Lewis Hall, who was also making just his second Newcastle start, grew in confidence following shaky early moments at left-back. The 19-year-old had endured a torrid debut — he was hooked at half-time in the previous round having been shifted from left-forward to left-sided No 8 and then left-back, to no discernible improvement — but he was too quick and strong for Antony. He also displayed his technical ability when volleying Harry Maguire’s poor headed clearance beyond Andre Onana to double Newcastle’s lead.
Fans continue to debate the wisdom of investing £70million ($85m) over the summer on two backup full-backs — Livramento is deputy to Kieran Trippier, arguably Newcastle’s most important player, and Hall is behind Dan Burn — when the squad, particularly in attacking areas, is so stretched. But Howe insists that the two Chelsea academy graduates have the “quality” to perform for Newcastle this season as well as in years to come.
Questions remain about Newcastle’s depth elsewhere.
Howe admitted that he deliberated with his coaching staff repeatedly over how to tackle a run of fixtures that sees Arsenal visit Tyneside in the Premier League on Saturday before Newcastle travel to Germany to face Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League on Tuesday.
While insisting he sent out an XI at Old Trafford he “believed could win”, he acknowledged it was an unavoidable gamble. It paid off handsomely, against all expectations.
With injuries and suspensions mounting, the fixture list becoming ever-more congested and fatigue setting in, the challenges will keep coming Newcastle’s way. But they will not be cowed and they will not take a backwards step.
This Newcastle United side want to keep pushing the boundaries, to keep raising the bar. And to keep creating history.
(Top photo: Visionhaus/Getty Images)
