Newcastle kept their dream of ending their long wait for a trophy by beating Chelsea 2-0 to reach the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup.

Alexandar Isak and an Axel Disasi own goal within three minutes of the first half did the damage in the last 16 tie at St James’ Park.

Newcastle were beaten in the final of this competition in 2023, but now their hopes of a first trophy since 1969 are one step closer. They host Brentford in the quarter-finals, with games taking place in the week commencing Monday 16th December.

Commenting on the draw, Eddie Howe said: “Copy and paste what I say every time. I wanted a home draw because this place is a great venue to play at and that was shown again tonight. Sold out, great atmosphere, good performance and I hope everyone feels a little better now.

It is the first major setback of the season under Enzo Maresca for Chelsea, who made 11 changes for cup competition after beating Newcastle in the Premier League at the weekend.

Newcastle starts quickly and overtakes the Blues

Chelsea were largely the architect of their own downfall in the first half as they fell two goals behind, constantly falling prey to Newcastle’s pressing, losing the ball deep in their own territory and allowing the Magpies to capitalize.

Isak scored the opening goal when Joelinton won the ball before Sandro Tonali picked out the striker to finish. The second was an own goal from Disasi when he shot an attempted free throw into his own net after Willock had passed the ball on.

Maresca reacted a little slowly to get his team back into the game. Noni Madueke came on after an hour but was in no hurry to get on the bench.

Joao Felix should have brought Chelsea back into the game in the 75th minute when he ran backwards with a long ball but then shot narrowly past Nick Pope’s post.

“Tonali-Tonic strengthens Newcastle on a big night for Howe.”

Ben Grounds from Sky Sports:

Just a few days ago, when Newcastle were trailing Chelsea in the Premier League, the traveling Toon Army expressed their disapproval when Tonali was substituted midway through the second half. Eddie Howe defended his decision, but it wasn’t the first time this season that his judgment had been questioned.

Howe has earned a lot of respect over the last three years, but a run of five games without a win adds extra significance to the second leg against Chelsea. Newcastle ultimately took advantage of their poor defense to retaliate, but Tonali played an important role in getting things going.

With the game goalless, Renato Veiga’s shot was brilliantly blocked by the Italian – who then pounced on a poor touch from Veiga to fire a pass through Isak and score the opener.

Howe could later afford to take a point by replacing his popular midfielder in stoppage time to a standing ovation.
Now, just two steps away from another Wembley date, Newcastle sit 12th in the Premier League, but assuming Tonali is a regular fixture in midfield, it shouldn’t be long before they climb up the table .

Chelsea’s second string comes loose

Simeon Gholam from Sky Sports:

Things have been pretty smooth for Chelsea’s second eleven so far as they have managed to secure several comfortable victories in the cup competitions in which they have featured.

But that challenge, far tougher than in the previous round against Barrow or in any of their Conference League games, saw them fail.

They looked loose at the back, where Newcastle’s high pressing caused all sorts of problems in the first half, and they looked pretty lackluster up front with Christopher Nkunku and Felix failing to fire.

Maresca also seemed relatively unimpressed. Cole Palmer was brought in and placed on the bench but did not play. Only one submarine was ever made. He clearly feels there are bigger fish to fry.

Howe: We defended really well

Newcastle Boss Eddie Howe: “It was a really good performance tonight, especially in the first half. We got our pressing attitude perfect and had a lot of put-backs high up the pitch, which is where the first goal came from. I am very satisfied with the contribution of the whole squad.

“You always learn from every game and try to put things into practice in the next game. Yes, against the same opponent, but against a completely different team. I’m sure they took things from Sunday with them for tonight too.”

“I just felt like we had a better feel tonight when we played without possession. We were much better at the details and turned the recoveries into opportunities for the offense.”

“The second half wasn’t an easy game. They brought some good players off the bench to add to the quality they already had on the pitch, but I thought we defended really well.”

What’s next?

Newcastle are back in the Premier League at home to Arsenal on Saturday at 12.30pm. Chelsea face Manchester United on Super Sunday at 4:30pm – live on Sky Sports Premier League.