Newcastle see off Southampton to reach Carabao Cup final

Newcastle United defeated Southampton 2-1 at home on Tuesday in their Carabao Cup semifinal second leg to earn a 3-1 victory overall, securing their spot in the first major final in 24 years.Joelinton's goal at the end of the game gave Newcastle a 1-0 victory in the first leg, and Sean Longstaff, a local, gave them the perfect start in the second leg by scoring in the first minute.The midfielder scored again in the 21st minute to cap a well-executed team play that was started by Joe Willock's slalom run forward. It was the midfielder's first goal at St James' Park in over four years.Che Adams, who capitalised on a clumsy backpass by Willock later in the first half, gave Southampton some hope. In the second half, fellow striker Adam Armstrong had a wonderful opportunity to tie the game, but goalkeeper Nick Pope denied him.After a VAR review for a studs-up challenge on Samuel Edozie, Newcastle midfielder Bruno Guimaraes was given a straight red card in the 82nd minute, but Eddie Howe's team managed to finish the game with 10 men.Because of the punishment, Guimaraes will be need to sit out three league games, but he will be eligible to play in the cup final on February 26.Newcastle will face either Manchester United or Nottingham Forest in the championship game at Wembley. Manchester United now leads 3-0 going into Wednesday's second leg at Old Trafford.The Magpies will be playing in their first final since losing the FA Cup championship game 2-0 to United in 1999, and it will be their second participation in the League Cup final after falling to Manchester City in 1976.They will compete for their first title since the FA Cup in 1955.Dan Burns, a defender, stated, "I've never played in a situation like that; we started off pretty well, scored two fantastic goals, let them back into it a little bit, but we're thrilled to get it over the line."It's been a while since we've had a night like this, an extraordinary night, so it's a special night.The victory, which was achieved in a scorching environment and a sea of black-and-white scarves, was arguably the best thing that had happened to Newcastle since the team was acquired by a consortium backed by Saudi Arabia in October 2021, when they were in danger of dropping out of the Premier League.They are currently fighting for a return to Champions League soccer and are now third in the rankings.It's incredible what can change in a year; if you had said this 12 months ago, we would have laughed at you; what we're developing now is very exceptional, said Longstaff.