Former Newcastle United manager Rafa Benitez has praised his former club after their 2-0 loss in the Carabao Cup final to Manchester United. The opening goal came after 33 minutes when Man United midfielder Casemiro latched onto Luke Shaw's free kick and headed past Loris Karius to break the deadlock.
It was just five minutes later when the Magpies went 2-0 down, a deflected Marcus Rashford shot catching out the Newcastle goalkeeper meant the deficit was doubled and despite a strong second-half performance, the comeback wasn't able to happen.
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Benitez, who managed Newcastle from 2016 until 2019, was the man in charge the last time the Magpies last won some silverware following their title-winning season in the Championship back in 2017.
And while they couldn't add a historic first League Cup to the cabinet back at St. James' Park, the Spaniard let his old club know that he was proud of their performance.
Benitez wrote: "Great effort @NUFC, you gave it everything. Next time. Howay the lads. #nufc #carabaocupfinal."
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