Casemiro claimed victory in the battle of the Brazilian midfielders as Manchester United won their sixth EFL Cup with a 2-0 success against Newcastle United on Sunday.
On the way to Wembley, it felt like Newcastle fans significantly outnumbered United's, seemingly four out of every five people donning black and white striped shirts.
That feeling continued in the stadium, with almost every Newcastle fan in their seat waiting for kick-off with about 45 minutes to go, their black and white flags flying in anticipation of a momentous occasion, while big gaps remained in the United end just 10 minutes prior to the start, though it was full by kick-off.
On a cold day in London, fans of both teams hoped to be warmed by some samba magic, with United and Newcastle having two Brazilians each in the middle of the park.
United manager Erik ten Hag opted for Fred and Casemiro, while Magpies boss Eddie Howe went with Joelinton and Bruno Guimaraes, with the latter back from suspension in time for the final.
Newcastle had not won any of the six games that Guimaraes had missed this season heading into Sunday's clash, and there was a renewed sense of optimism from the Geordie fans with their key man back.
However, a sloppy foul conceded by Guimaraes just after the half-hour mark gave United a chance to put a free-kick from the left, which Luke Shaw whipped in expertly for Casemiro to nod in.
Newcastle had actually started the game better, with only some poor execution in the final third preventing them from taking the lead, but their ruthless opponents struck first.
Casemiro became just the third Brazilian to score in an EFL Cup final after both Philippe Coutinho and Fernandinho did so in 2016 when Liverpool faced Manchester City.
It was also Casemiro's fourth goal in his last 12 games, one more than he had scored across his previous 89 matches.
The Magpies were caught napping again as Wout Weghorst was allowed to dribble to the edge of the penalty area before releasing Marcus Rashford, whose shot deflected off Sven Botman and over the helpless Loris Karius to make it 2-0.
Newcastle's third-choice goalkeeper was making his first competitive appearance in 728 days, having not played for anyone since his final outing of his loan to Bundesliga side Union Berlin on February 28, 2021.
Selected following Nick Pope's red card against Karius' former team Liverpool, the German could not have done much about either goal, and was able to show off some of his ability before the break when he denied Weghorst from making it 3-0 by tipping the Dutch striker's shot from 20 yards over the crossbar.
Newcastle tried to fight back in the second half, with Howe bringing Alexander Isak on for Sean Longstaff, leaving Joelinton and Guimaraes as the sole two in midfield.
Fred very much played a supporting role to the dominant Casemiro, and was replaced by Marcel Sabitzer with just over 20 minutes remaining.
With 12 minutes to go, Guimaraes made way, noticeably limping after a couple of knocks during the game. The former Lyon man certainly did not disgrace himself, completing 45 of his 49 passes (91.8 per cent) and winning back possession 10 times.
Joelinton tried to revert to his former ways as a striker, having more than twice as many shots as any other Newcastle player (five), but it was ultimately in vain.
It was the experience of Casemiro that told on the big occasion, with the 31-year-old having won so many finals with Real Madrid – including five Champions League titles.
In truth, it was far from a vintage United performance, with Newcastle having 61 per cent possession and 14 shots inside the opposition box to their opponents' five, while they also had 37 touches in the opposing box compared to the Red Devils' 17 at the other end.
Ten Hag's men did enough to win the game, though, and that is all that counts in a final.
It was so near yet so far for Newcastle, who were competing in their first major final since they lost to United by the same score at the old Wembley in the 1999 FA Cup final.
They remain without a trophy of any calibre since the 1969 Fairs Cup, but the stark improvement shown under Howe this season suggests they should not have to wait many more years.
As for United, they brought an end to six years in the trophy wilderness, and had man of the match Casemiro largely to thank.
Had they managed to sign Frenkie de Jong or Adrien Rabiot prior to opting for the Brazilian last year, who knows what could have happened?
They won't spend a moment wondering about that now, with the Red Devils basking in the glow of a cup win once again.
Bruno Fernandes tells Andre Onana to stop blaming himself for Man Utd defeat
Bruno Fernandes threw his support behind Andre Onana and told the devastated Manchester United goalkeeper to stop blaming himself for the Champions League defeat at Bayern Munich.
Having been beaten in three of their first five matches for the first time in the Premier League era, the Red Devils’ return to European football’s top table ended in a 4-3 loss on Wednesday night. Erik ten Hag’s men started the Group A opener surprisingly well at the Allianz Arena, only for summer signing Onana to somehow let a low Leroy Sane shot squirm home.
The 27-year-old buried his head in the turf and was consoled by team-mates, later saying he “let the team down” and that United “didn’t win today, it’s because of me”.
“It’s not about Andre,” United skipper Fernandes said. “Andre is a great goalkeeper.
“He will keep giving us a lot of points, a lot of saves. He hasn’t to take any blame for nothing.
“We have to take the blame as a team, that we’re going to go through this moment together because we are strong as a team.”
Onana’s gaffe was swiftly followed by a Serge Gnabry strike, with Harry Kane then scoring a penalty straight after Rasmus Hojlund had pulled one back early in the second half.
The match came to a hectic conclusion, with Casemiro scoring either side of Mathys Tel’s stoppage-time strike as United showed spirit but ultimately lost for a fourth time in five matches.
“I think what everyone has to do is to do their own job and look at themselves first,” Fernandes said in the bowels of the Allianz Arena.
“That’s what I do as a player, not as a captain – as a person and first point.
“I think everyone does that and I think today it wasn’t the case that not everyone was doing the best for the team or trying to fight for getting the result. I think everyone did that.
“It’s just the momentum and against big teams, as I said, when you give a lot of chances to them, they’re going to hurt you.
“Even then they give us some chances and we scored three goals, so I think no-one would expect us to come into Bayern and score three goals.
“I don’t think anyone outside of us would expect us to fight for the result in trying to get something from the game.
“But I think the team did. Obviously it wasn’t enough but we’re not playing against some bad team.
“We were playing one of the best teams in the world, with great players, with great qualities.
“Obviously it’s not the best moment for us but we will get through this and we will get the results back.”
United stayed in Germany following the Group A opener and are training before flying back as preparations step up for Saturday evening’s key trip to Burnley.
Ten Hag will be hoping to have more options to choose from at Turf Moor, having headed to Bayern without nine injured players.
“Obviously, we want to have everyone back because we know that as many players we have available, the team will be stronger,” Fernandes said. “And obviously more options for the manager to do his choices and whatever his tactics, the first 11 or whatever he picks.
“But obviously, still, we have the players and we have enough experience and enough talent in the team to get through this moment even with all the players.
“Obviously now I think some of them probably will come back earlier and will lift the team because we have quality players injured.
“But it’s about the ones that are now playing, giving something to get the result and that’s it.
“We can’t rely now on the injuries and everything.
“We know it’s tough and you need to get through that because you can’t control (it).
“But I think the team has players (good) enough to get a response.”
KC, C'Bar blank Camperdown, Charlie Smith in Group A double-header
Former champions Kingston College and Calabar continued their upward trend in Group A of the ISSA/Digicel Manning Cup, as both registered 2-0 and 3-0 victories over Camperdown and Charlie Smith respectively at the Anthony Spaulding Sports Complex on Wednesday.
Both Kingston College and Calabar, who lost their opening contests, have rebounded nicely with these being their second win on the trot in a competitive group that is expected to go down to the wire for the top two positions.
In the opening contest, Alex Hislop (fourth) and Kelvin Brown (65th) got the job done for Kingston College over Camperdown, while Javel Watson (20th), Fitzroy McLeod (79th) and Kimani Thompson (90+2), were on target for Calabar in the feature encounter.
With the win, both Calabar and Kingston College moved to six points, along with leader Hydel, who hammered Penwood 10-0 in their fixture. Charlie Smith remains in fourth on three points, with Camperdown and Penwood yet to put a point on the board.
After Hislop fired Kingston College in front, the tempo of the young North Street-based team dropped significantly but picked up when the game resumed from a short break due to severe weather conditions.
Kingston College should have added a second from the penalty spot, but Dejuan Green tried to be too fancy and hit the 12-yard kick wide, as the score remained 1-0 at the break.
The purples continued their dominant show on the resumption and though Camperdown tried to play their game, the failed to really trouble Dominic Robinson in goal for Kingston College.
Vassell Reynolds’s side eventually added to their tally when Brown waltzed his way around three defenders before finishing a right-footer with aplomb to seal the win.
Though not impressed, Reynolds welcomed the improved second half display and, by extension, the win.
“I think we rose to the occasion; it is still a work in progress, but the youngsters are learning very quickly. I am pretty satisfied with how they recovered from the first half. I thought the break helped us really, we were giving away possession of the ball and we lacked the composure in the first half, but they came out and equipped themselves in the second half,” Reynolds said in his post-game assessment.
His counterpart Lebert Halliman cited indiscipline for his team’s defeat, their second of the season. They also have against Hydel in which they are down 0-5 to be completed.
“Indiscipline is why I took off my captain because he wasn’t playing his role. But overall, I think the team did well, it’s a young team and a long season, so it’s a learning process for them,” Halliman said.
The feature contest was much more eventful, as both Charlie Smith and Calabar were evenly matched for the most parts.
Both displayed individual flair and some colorful plays in patches, but it was Calabar that proved the most clinical in the end.
The Andrew Price-conditioned Calabar opened the scoring in the 20th minute when an unmarked Watson, easily headed home at close range from a Jaheim Rankine cross.
They almost doubled the lead 12 minutes later, as Sheridan Wilson’s stinging right-footed shot from a distance had Deonte Gary, in goal for Charlie Smith beaten, but the effort came back off the crossbar.
With no changes to the scoreline at the break, Charlie Smith showed more purpose on the resumption in their hunt for the equalizer. However, they not only found themselves with a numerical disadvantage when they lost Gary to straight red in the 61st minute for stomping on an opponent, but they also found themselves with a two-goal deficit to make up.
This, as Anthony McDonald’s weighted free kick found McLeod, who made no mistakes.
And if that wasn’t bad enough, Thompson rubbed salt on an already wounded Charlie Smith with an easy close range finish in time added.
Wednesday’s results
Zone A
Kingston College 2, Camperdown 0
Charlie Smith 0, Calabar 3
Penwood 0, Hydel High 10
Zone B
Meadowbrook 3, Cumberland 2
Jamaica College 3, Spanish Town 0
Zone D
Excelsior 7, Cedar Grove 1
Bridgeport 2, Clan Carthy 1
Zone E
St Catherine 7, Edith Dalton James 0
Innswood 2, Holy Trinity 0
Mona 9, St Mary’s College 1
It’s difficult – Andre Onana takes responsibility for Man Utd’s defeat in Munich
Devastated goalkeeper Andre Onana said he let the team down with his costly mistake at the start of Manchester United’s Champions League loss to Bayern Munich.
Erik ten Hag’s side suffered a fourth loss in five matches as a bright start in Bavaria went up in smoke with the summer signing somehow letting a Leroy Sane shot squirm home.
Bayern quickly added a second through Serge Gnabry and never relinquished control of the Group A opener, with Harry Kane scoring a penalty straight after Rasmus Hojlund had pulled one back after half-time.
Casemiro scored either side of Mathys Tel’s stoppage-time strike in a dramatic conclusion to a 4-3 defeat that glum Onana took responsibility for.
“It’s difficult,” the Cameroon international said.
“It’s difficult to lose this way because I think in the beginning we started very good and after my mistake we lost control of the game.
“It’s a difficult situation for us, for me especially because I’m the one who let the team down. But the team were good, very good, but because of me we didn’t win the game.
“I am happy for the work of the team and we just have to move on. This is life of the goalkeeper and if we didn’t win today it’s because of me.”
Onana requested to face the media after the game and was clearly cut up about his error in the first half, which he said was “the key point” in the loss.
“I have to learn from it and be strong, move on,” the former Inter Milan player told TNT Sports.
“It’s not an easy situation but I’m very happy for the comeback of the team. We were fighting until the end, but I have to recognise because of me we didn’t win.
“I have a lot to prove because, to be honest, my start in Manchester is not so good, not how I want.
“Play how I play today is one of my worst games and it’s difficult because we have big ambition, we are a very big club and we want to win everything.
“It was a big opportunity for us to bounce back after the situation we are facing. It’s tough, a tough time. We have to be together, we have to continue what we are doing, learn from our mistakes because it’s the only thing to do.”
Ten Hag did not sugarcoat things when asked about Onana’s error in the press conference, but made clear it is about the team rather than an individual.
“I think he shows that he takes responsibility and shows personality and the personality he needs to get in high levels,” the United boss said.
“But that’s not only about him, it’s about the team’s performance, so we have to support him on the pitch, not only in life, we have to help him.
“But it doesn’t only count for Andre, it counts for all the players on the pitch. They have to understand they are in the same boat and they have to be on the same page to get results.”
Ten Hag said people should “not make it bigger than it is” and is sure Onana will bounce back from the clanger as attention turns to Saturday’s Premier League trip to Burnley.
“When you score three goals in Munich you have to take at least a point, which we didn’t,” the Dutchman said. “We have to take a look at ourselves in the mirror.”
As for Bayern, they were far from their free flowing best but Thomas Tuchel – banned from the touchline – was happy with the result.
“It is a deserved win,” the ex-Chelsea boss said. “Every win in the Champions League is a big point.
“Every win against Manchester United is a big point. We didn’t have the rhythm that we wanted and in the phase after we made it 3-1 we could have killed the game off. But we reacted well to every setback.”
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