Union Saint-Gilloise end (Belgium Pro League, 90 years)

Union Saint-Gilloise ended their 90-year wait for the Belgian league title but had to endure a nervy afternoon before beating visitors Gent 3-1 on Sunday to finish three points ahead of second-place Club Brugge.

The Brussels club went agonisingly close in the last two seasons and faced the potential of another last-day calamity before substitute Promise David came on in the second half to score twice in the space of seven minutes and ensure their title triumph.

Formed in 1897, Union won 11 league titles between 1904 and their last in 1935 but went into serious decline in the early 1960s after being relegated, ending up in the fourth tier of Belgian football some two decades later.

Crystal Palace (FA Cup, first trophy ever in 120 years)
Eberechi Eze’s 16th-minute strike proved to be the biggest goal in Crystal Palace’s history as it secured the 1-0 win over Manchester City. Wembley erupted at the sound of the final whistle, with multiple generations of Palace fans embracing one another. There were fans looking to the heavens, dedicating the cup success to loved ones who did not live to see the day. Palace winning the oldest knockout cup event in football encompassed the love and loyalty instilled in true fans.

Go Ahead Eagles (KNVB Cup, 92 years)
The Dutch underdogs defeated AZ Alkmaar via penalty shootout. The celebrations started early, prematurely even. The game was suspended momentarily in normal time due to fireworks being set off, with the scoreboard still reading 0-0. For a fan, a risky decision to get a tattoo of the trophy a month before the final paid off. The Eagles’ right-back, Mats Deijl, had observed a week before the game, “I hope he does not have to laser it off.” Fortunately for him, the footballing gods played ball.

Newcastle United (Carabao Cup, 56 years)
A street parade was held on Tyneside the week after the Magpies downed Liverpool 1-0 at Wembley, with the winner being scored by towering defender Dan Burn, born and bred in the area. Some 300,000 braved the cold to line the streets for the open-top bus parade. Newcastle’s previous trophy was the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup (the competition before the UEFA Cup) in 1969. The jubilation from the Carabao Cup win fuelled Newcastle to qualify for the Champions League by finishing fifth in the English Premier League.

Bologna FC (Coppa Di Italia, 51 years)
Bologna climbed back to the top of Italian football after beating AC Milan 1-0 in the final of the Coppa Di Italia, five decades after last winning this competition. Bologna were seen as heavy underdogs, with the final being Milan’s to lose. The Serie A club later released a video titled “The City That Dared to Dream”, which sums up the club’s core. They have rebuilt themselves over recent years, finally qualifying for the Champions League last season. They have now achieved the success that they have worked so hard for.

Tottenham Hotspur (Europa League, 17 years)
After nearly two decades of being ridiculed by other “Top 6” clubs for never winning trophies, Tottenham put an end to it. A goal in the 42nd minute through Brennan Johnson was enough for Spurs to snatch the Europa League away from Manchester United. The Spurs fans were left in disbelief; the jokes of never winning anything had begun to stick. Tears of sheer joy were shared between the Spurs supporters and players. After one of the worst Premier League seasons in the club’s history, they have all come together to celebrate a trophy most did not see coming.

Kaizer Chiefs (Nedbank Cup, 10 years)
It took a decade, but finally, the Amakhosi fans can walk tall again after securing their first trophy since 2015 by winning the Nedbank Cup. They sank arch-rivals Orlando Pirates thanks to an 80th-minute winner by Yusuf Maart in Durban to make it 2-1. This victory could be the catalyst to reaching the dizzy levels of success from their past and delivered a resounding thank you to the Chiefs fans who have stuck by the club through their patch.

Another name has been added to the list as VfB Stuttgart were victorious in the German knockout competition, the DFB-Pokal, which gave them their first major trophy in 18 years. More teams can join this group of unexpected winners and drought-enders as French giants PSG look to secure their first Champions League. Next up however, Real Betis could win their first trophy since 1977 and their first ever European trophy when they take on Chelsea in the Conference League final.

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The Magpies ended their 56-year trophy drought after securing a 2-1 victory over Liverpool in the League Cup final at Wembley Stadium on Sunday evening.

Dan Burn opened the scoring for the Magpies in the 48th minute before Alexander Isak doubled their lead in the 58th minute.

Federico Chiesa managed to pull a goal back in deep into stoppage time but it wasn’t enough as Newcastle held on for the win to secure their first piece of silverware since 1969.

Howe admits his side were desperate to secure their their first piece of silverware, having last won a trophy in 1969.

“I’ve been emotional all day to be honest, which is very unlike me around the game day,” Howe said.

“But we just knew what was at stake today for all the people here, all the people back in Newcastle and we just wanted to do them proud.

“We were desperate to try and win the trophy after all the years of hurt.

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

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The Reds suffered their second consecutive defeat following their 2-1 loss to the Magpies at Wembley Stadium on Sunday.

Dan Burn opened the scoring for the Magpies in the 48th minute before Alexander Isak doubled their lead in the 58th minute, while Federico Chiesa scored a consolation goal in deep into stoppage time.

Liverpool will be looking to bounce back and return to winning ways when they take on city rivals Everton in the latest installment of the Merseyside derby on April 2.

“We are here in one of the biggest clubs in the world, Liverpool, but it’s not for the first time in their history or in the last two seasons that they’ve lost two games in a row,” said Slot.

“This is part of playing football, especially if one of them is when you face the best team in Europe at the moment and the other one is facing Newcastle, which is a very strong team in England.

“I want to make clear one more time that the week started off really well by us beating Southampton,” he said. “That’s why we extended our lead to 12 points with nine games to go (the situation after Arsenal’s 1-0 against Chelsea on Sunday).

“And, yeah, you know if you go far in tournaments that the opposition in your face gets stronger and stronger and that you can lose. Even Liverpool can lose football games. That’s what can happen.

“Outplayed for me is if you don’t touch the ball and they play through you every single time you try to press them and every time you’re too late. That is for me outplayed.

“But I agree with you if you say that they deserved to win because the game went in the way they wanted it to go. So, yes, they deserved to win but it wasn’t like we were only running after them.

“We had to defend a lot of long balls, second balls and that’s their strength.”

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Dan Burn opened the scoring for the Magpies in the 48th minute before Alexander Isak doubled their lead in the 58th minute.

Federico Chiesa managed to pull a goal back in deep into stoppage time but it wasn’t enough as Newcastle held on for the win to secure their first piece of silverware since 1969.

Guimaraes has dedicated their trihumph in the Carabao Cup final to the club’s supporters by insisting they “deserve everthing”.

“It’s all for these fans,” Guimaraes told Sky Sports. “They deserve everything. When I first came here, I said I wanted to put my name in history.

“We can now say we are the champions again. This is one of the best days of my life.

“I don’t have any words. It’s the best day of my life. For them (the fans) it’s like the World Cup. People have grown up and not seen us as champions. My first year as captain of this club and it’s one of the best days. This is unbelievable.

“This is my second home. We are making history. Some day when I leave this club I want the fans to sing my name the way they do to Shearer. He texted me before the game. I’m so emotional today.”

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Dan Burn opened the scoring for the Magpies in the 48th minute before Alexander Isak doubled their lead in the 58th minute.

Federico Chiesa managed to pull a goal back in deep into stoppage time but it wasn’t enough as Newcastle held on for the win to secure their first piece of silverware since 1969.

Highlights: Newcastle United vs Liverpool

Dan Burn is having the best week of his life 🥳

He follows up his England call-up by putting Newcastle ahead in the #CarabaoCup final with a crazy header 💥

📺 Stream live: https://t.co/B0jLrQW5cc pic.twitter.com/UjQO25sLEn

— SuperSport Football ⚽️ (@SSFootball) March 16, 2025

The moment Newcastle United officially became #CarabaoCup champions for the first time ever 🔊👏 pic.twitter.com/r5kBHdeCdg

— SuperSport Football ⚽️ (@SSFootball) March 16, 2025

Bruno Guimarães and Kieran Trippier have the honour of lifting the #CarabaoCup as Newcastle celebrate their win over Liverpool 🥳 pic.twitter.com/O3oQLreY41

— SuperSport Football ⚽️ (@SSFootball) March 16, 2025

Probably won't be home for tea for a while! 🖤🤍

Congratulations, @NUFC! 🏆#EFL | #CarabaoCupFinal pic.twitter.com/ANEl3rvGSY

— Carabao Cup (@Carabao_Cup) March 16, 2025

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The 18-year-old had already been booked earlier in the game before he clattered into Liverpool defender Konstantinos Tsimikas.

The Reds believe that should have been a second yellow card, and to make matters worse, while Tsimikas was off the field and receiving treatment, Tottenham scored their winner against the visitors’ 10 men.

“I think it was quite obvious it was going to be a second yellow (for Bergvall),” Liverpool captain Virgil Van Dijk said. “I think it was pretty clear. It was a coincidence and a minute later he scores the winner. It is what it is. The referee (Stuart Atwell) made a mistake in my opinion and I told him that.

“Everyone on the sidelines knew it was supposed to be a yellow. There’s a linesman there, a fourth official there, there’s VAR, a referee and he doesn’t get a second yellow.

“I’m not saying this is the reason why we lost tonight but it was a big moment in the game.”

The defeat ended a 24-game unbeaten run for Liverpool, and was just a second for the team since manager Arne Slot took over the side at the start of the season.

“The decision he made had a lot of impact on the result tonight. There’s not a lot I can say from that,” Slot said of Attwell. “The fourth official told me why he thought it wasn’t a second yellow and he heard that probably from the referee.

“I never like to lose but if you have to lose it’s better to lose when you still have the second leg to come.”

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City were winning at the Etihad in a game that was becoming routine. After five minutes, Doku scored and City looked set to thrash Watford, but Tom Cleverley’s team had other plans.

After Doku’s opening, the Hornets got more aggressive and almost equalised when referee David Webb called Kwadwo Baah’s barge on 16-year-old debutant Kaden Braithwaite a foul.

Nunes’ long-range shot handed City back control and doubled their lead.

Watford’s Vakoun Issouf Bayo nearly scored before halftime. An inviting cross from Yasser Larouci was headed wide by the Ivorian striker.

After halftime, City dominated the possession, but Watford’s replacements opened the game.

Savinho replaced Doku at halftime and lost a curling shot to Ince.

With five minutes left, Ince curled a shot past Stefan Ortega, but City held on to the lead.

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Nkunku scored in the ninth minute after Joao Felix chipped the ball.

The attacker scored his second after flicking Malo Gusto’s low cross into the net, while Felix’s free-kick hit the post and deflected in off Barrow keeper Paul Farman to give the Blues a 3-0 halftime advantage.

Pedro Neto scored his first Chelsea goal two minutes after the break by tapping in Mykhailo Mudryk’s cross.

Nkunku scored his hat-trick in the 75th minute by battling Farman and passing into an empty net.

The 26-year-old Frenchman has six goals in eight Chelsea games this season after his first triple.

Nkunku made his first start since the hosts’ opening-day loss to Manchester City last month.

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Fulham lost to second-tier Preston 16-15 on penalties during the tournament’s longest shoot-out while United ran wild.

United, in 10th place in the Premier League after two losses in their opening four games, were never in danger of an upset against their third-tier opponents at Old Trafford.

Rashford, Antony, and Alejandro Garnacho scored before halftime to secure United’s second straight win after Saturday’s Premier League win at Southampton.

Rashford and Garnacho scored again after halftime, and Christian Eriksen’s double sealed United’s largest win since Erik ten Hag joined from Ajax in 2022.

“It is the first time this team is playing together. Once we found our patterns we scored some great goals,” Ten Hag said.

“We played with a lot of speed and were ruthless. The key was the right attitude and to be 100 percent concentrated.

“Last season was for everyone difficult, but we ended with the FA Cup. We hit our target and that is what we aim for this season, we want to progress.”

Ten Hag made eight changes, starting Manuel Ugarte for the first time after joining from Paris Saint-Germain, despite promising to take the League Cup “very seriously”.

United started their quest to win the competition for the second time in three seasons despite Ten Hag’s many changes.

The Dutchman called Rashford a bottle of tomato ketchup when he scored his first goal of the season at Southampton last weekend.

Ten Hag believed Rashford would succeed after breaking his duck after a difficult season.

This prediction came true in the 16th minute as Garnacho’s pass found Rashford, who cut inside Marc Roberts and fired high past Barnsley keeper Gaga Slonina into the top corner.

First time since March, the 26-year-old scored in consecutive games.

Antony, an out-of-favour Brazilian international, scored a 35th-minute penalty after Slonina fouled him as he ran through on goal in his first appearance this season.

First-half stoppage time saw Garnacho score United’s third goal from close range.

Garnacho scored again in the 49th minute, running on Eriksen’s pass.

Rashford doubled in the 58th minute after receiving Garnacho’s ball and scoring well.

Eriksen scored two clinical goals in the 81st and 85th minutes as Barnsley was trounced.

After a 1-1 draw, Preston overcame Fulham at Deepdale after 34 penalties.

After each team missed, Fulham’s Timothy Castagne shot over and Preston’s Ryan Ledson calmly scored the victory at 15-15 in the shootout.

The previous League Cup shoot-out record was established in 2016 by Derby over Carlisle 14-13.

After a 1-1 draw at Goodison Park, Southampton prevailed 6-5 on penalties to continue Everton’s poor start.

Abdoulaye Doucoure’s 20th-minute header put Sean Dyche’s team, bottom of the Premier League after four losses, ahead.

Taylor Harwood-Bellis levelled before halftime, and Alex McCarthy saved Ashley Young’s penalty in the shootout to win it for Southampton, who have lost all four league games this season.

Crystal Palace beat former QPR 2-1 with England winger Eberechi Eze scoring.

Fabio Carvalho’s first goal helped Brentford beat third-tier Leyton Orient 3-1 at the Gtech Community Stadium after an early scare.

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After a demanding match against a number of inexperienced players, Jurgen Klopp’s injury-plagued team emerged victorious, but it was their seasoned captain who sealed the team’s tenth League Cup victory.

With just two minutes remaining, Van Dijk scored a goal that was controversially disallowed by VAR, but the Dutch defender quickly followed up.

Following Klopp’s shocking revelation that he will stand down at the end of this season, it was Liverpool’s first prize.

The German hopes that Liverpool’s first trophy since winning the FA Cup in 2022 would serve as a launchpad for an amazing farewell tour.

Top-seeded Liverpool will play Southampton in the FA Cup fifth round on Wednesday and Sparta Prague in the Europa League last 16 as they pursue a quadruple crown.

Chelsea fell to Liverpool in the 2022 League Cup and FA Cup finals, making it another painful experience at Wembley.

Mauricio Pochettino, the manager of the Blues, has requested that Chelsea supporters refrain from judging him based on “winning titles” during his turbulent debut season.

However, Chelsea hasn’t won any domestic championships since the FA Cup in 2018, and they only had themselves to blame for losing so many opportunities during regular time.

Hurt by eleven player injuries, Mohamed Salah, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Alisson Becker, Darwin Nunez, Diogo Jota, and Dominik Szoboszlai were among Liverpool’s star absentees.

Conor Bradley and Harvey Elliott, who are both 20 years old, were given the start, and six of Klopp’s substitutes were all under 21.

Luis Diaz led the charge as Liverpool, despite having a young lineup, settled very fast.

Diaz moved into the area to take advantage of Chelsea’s sluggish defence and hit a hard shot that pushed Djordje Petrovic into a good save.

Chelsea’s first sharp raid ought to have given them the lead against the run of play.

Just six yards out, Conor Gallagher’s cross deflected to Cole Palmer, but Caoimhin Kelleher made a fantastic stop to deny his strike.

Ryan Gravenberch was stretchered off after his leg twisted awkwardly during a challenge with Moises Caicedo, adding another injury to Liverpool’s ever-expanding list of injuries.

Raheem Sterling thought he had given Chelsea the lead when he finished from close range after Nicolas Jackson’s cross, but the goal was disallowed because the Senegal striker was tight offside prior to Sterling’s delivery.

In response to Chelsea’s improvement, Cody Gakpo’s glancing header from Andrew Robertson’s cross hit the far post, bringing Liverpool within inches of grabbing the lead.

Liverpool persisted in their attack, and Levi Colwill did a fantastic job of blocking Bradley’s goalbound shot by diving into the melee to block the close-range attempt.

Van Dijk appeared to have given Liverpool the lead on the hour mark when he rose above Ben Chilwell to head in Robertson’s free kick.

However, VAR stepped in, as referee Chris Kavanagh disallowed the score against Wataru Endo for offside after Endo prevented Colwill from marking the Dutch defender.

Axel Disasi had a close-range opportunity to add insult to injury for Liverpool, but the Chelsea defender completely blew it.

Gallagher met Palmer’s cross with a flick that cannoned off the far post, giving Chelsea another chance.

In the closing minutes, Gallagher had a great chance to win it, but he blew it after taking a harsh touch on Palmer’s ball that gave Kelleher the opportunity to save.

Kelleher forced extra time with two more stops in a thrilling finish against Palmer and Christopher Nkunku.

Even though Liverpool’s youthful players lacked Chelsea’s experience, Bobby Clark, James McConnell, Jarell Quansah, and Jayden Danns were never overawed.

Elliott came just inches away from scoring when he volleyed against the post, while Danns nearly guided his header over Petrovic.

With two minutes remaining, Van Dijk met Kostas Tsimikas’s corner with a header that zipped past Petrovic, demonstrating Liverpool’s unwavering resolve. Klopp raised his arms in an almost unbelieving smile.

Photo by EPA/ANDY RAIN

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