Manchester United vs Newcastle LIVE: Carabao Cup final result and reaction as Erik ten Hag wins first trophy

Eddie Howe will return to Wembley on Sunday with his late mother firmly in his thoughts.

The 45-year-old could be just 90 minutes away from succeeding where even Geordie folk heroes Kevin Keegan and Sir Bobby Robson failed by bringing a first major trophy back to Newcastle since the 1969 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup.

However, as he walks out on to the hallowed turf at headquarters ahead of the Carabao Cup final clash with Manchester United, he will cast his mind back to the day his mother Anne took him there as a child.

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag labelled Carabao Cup final opponents Newcastle “annoying”, warning his players and Sunday’s officials to be wary of their supposed time-wasting antics.

All eyes will be on Wembley on Sunday afternoon as the Red Devils look to end their six-year wait for a trophy against the success-starved Magpies, who have not won a trophy since 1969.

Ten Hag is excited for the occasion and this early shot at silverware, but the United boss is not taking Eddie Howe’s side lightly and suggested there could be some gamesmanship from Newcastle.

The warrior centre-back saved the surprise for the end. Lisandro Martinez’s conversation had been sprinkled with the word “fight” and it scarcely felt surprising, There are sleek, elegant defenders who steal in unnoticed, as though they can complete the game without a speck of dirt on them, and there are stolid, solid ones, primed to head anything away but sometimes essentially uninteresting. And then there are those such as Martinez, a charismatic scrapper whose brand of full-blooded commitment has made him a Manchester United cult hero.

But not, it transpired, a serial miscreant. His Albiceleste team-mate Cristian Romero may conform more to the image of the Argentinian centre-back, leaping recklessly where others fear to tread, almost accepting red cards as an occupational hazard. Martinez can seem no less combative, but he has managed to ally a willingness to tackle with an awareness of what he can and cannot get away with.

Luke Shaw says Erik ten Hag has brought the feel-good factor back to Old Trafford as Manchester United attempt to end their six-year wait for a trophy in Sunday’s Carabao Cup final.

The Old Trafford giants are synonymous with success and silverware, but things have gone awry since Sir Alex Ferguson bowed out on top in 2013.

United’s only major trophies since then have been the 2016 FA Cup and the following year’s EFL Cup and Europa League successes, with the club currently on their worst trophy drought in 40 years.

Kieran Trippier is confident Newcastle will contest bigger prizes than the Carabao Cup as they build towards a brighter future.

The Magpies will play in their first final for 24 years when they line up against Manchester United at Wembley on Sunday, when victory would end a wait for a major trophy dating back to 1969, some 14 years after they claimed their last domestic prize.

However Trippier, a LaLiga winner with Atletico Madrid and a Champions League finalist during his time at Tottenham, believes even that would represent only a start.

Former Newcastle defender Steven Taylor gave his opinion on today’s Carabao Cup final saying: "Newcastle have been a sleeping giant for years. Going to win the cup will change everything - with the city it is huge.

"It is similar to the Bobby Robson days with the feel-good factor Eddie Howe has created. It has put Newcastle back on the map. There is no reason Newcastle can’t go into this full of confidence.

Manchester United come into today’s match with a heap of momentum after defeating Barcelona in the Europa League.

“I have so many highlights, but definitely [the Barcelona match was] a highlight.” said Ten Hag when asked where that victory ranked since taking over at Old Trafford.

“We won the game but in the end it is about winning trophies, so it is on the road - hopefully - to silverware.

“But when you beat Barcelona, it is one of the best teams in Europe, eight points ahead of Real Madrid and we have seen already Madrid play against Liverpool this week, so then you know if you beat [Barcelona], you have done a really good job.”

The Carabao Cup final is sandwiched by anniversaries. Saturday marks seven years since Marcus Rashford’s Manchester United debut; Tuesday since his Premier League bow. Each was an explosive introduction; Rashford scored twice against Midtjylland, twice more against Arsenal and a star was born.

Within a month, he had a Manchester derby winner to his name; within three, he was an FA Cup winner, within four he had played for England in a major tournament.

Some 15 months into his senior career, Rashford had won the FA Cup, the League Cup, the Community Shield and the Europa League. It was a remarkable medal collection for a teenager; yet now Rashford is 25 and it has not expanded. “We definitely could have achieved more,” he accepted. “But I would have given the same answer if we had won a load of trophies. I’ve not really had a period to stop and look back on the last seven years because it’s very much non-stop.”

He has packed 340 games and 117 goals into them; if it has been non-stop, he now feels unstoppable, surfing a wave that has brought him 16 goals in 18 matches since the World Cup.

Former Newcastle United captain and supporter of the club Alan Shearer spoke ahead of today’s crucial match and says he wishes he could lace up his boots and play in this one.

"I’m there as a fan on Sunday, that drive up to Wembley way when you can see the Newcastle fans - it’s the only time I wish I could put my boots back on.” said Shearer.

"Wembley is only a place for winners. It’s a blooming horrible place when you don’t win. I’ve been there in finals and semi-finals and it’s horrible for the players and for the fans [if you lose].

"I lived the dream, now they’re living the dream - they’re lucky boys. As soon as you leave the hotel it’s a great journey to Wembley and seeing the black and white shirts, the cheering, the scarves, it’s just incredible. It sent a shiver down my spine."

Newcastle’s last league win came against Fulham in mid-January and the Magpies have scored just nine goals in their last 11 matches.

Their indifferent form comes at the worst time and Eddie Howe will be hoping for an uptick at Wembley this afternoon.