Late in the first half of the Carabao Cup final, Liverpool finally managed to carve out an opportunity. It was their only shot of the half.
Mohamed Salah was finally given the ball. His cross found Luis Diaz and the No7 smartly nodded the ball down to Diogo Jota inside of the Newcastle penalty area.
The Portugal international effectively cleared the ball with his attempt.
That is how bad the shot was. He failed to direct a left-footed effort goalwards and the chance for what would’ve been an undeserved equaliser was wasted.
Early in the second half, Alexander Isak was presented with a half chance just moments after he thought he’d doubled the Newcastle lead. The goal was disallowed for an offside in the build-up.
The Sweden international could’ve let that moment impact his concentration. He could’ve been frustrated and switched off. He wasn’t, though. Instead, he instinctively guided a Jacob Murphy knockdown into the corner of Caoimhin Kelleher’s goal.
He struck the effort before Virgil van Dijk or Alexis Mac Allister could get close to him while the ball was beyond Kelleher before Liverpool’s second choice goalkeeper could even react.
These two moments perfectly encapsulated why the Reds are in the market for a centre-forward this summer.
And not just any centre-forward, but why they’ve shoehorned themselves into the Isak conversation.
"Now they're BELIEVING!" 🎙️
— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) March 16, 2025
Alexander Isak doubles the Newcastle lead at Wembley 🤯 pic.twitter.com/sUlyVIX5Ul
Jota, misfiring after returning from yet another stint on the sidelines following an injury, blew his golden opportunity in the final.
He failed to test Nick Pope after being presented with a chance that has an expected goals (xG) value of 0.26. Isak, on the other hand, made the most of his having managed to turn a shot with an xG total of 0.18 into one with an expected goals on target (xGOT) total of 0.88 due to his placement.
Isak finished the match with the highest xG haul (1.04). In fact, he was the only player on the pitch to have chances worth over 0.3 xG at Wembley on Sunday afternoon.
It was the biggest of big occasions for Newcastle and their leading man wasn’t overawed by the occasion, the hope or the expectation.
The former Real Sociedad foreward now has four goals in his last four appearances for the Magpies and ten for Eddie Howe’s side since the turn of the year. He’s on 23 across all competitions for the campaign and he’s just shy of matching his career-best return of 25.
With 10 games still to play, you wouldn’t be at all surprised if he shattered that personal record.
Jota, meanwhile, has eight goals this season for the Reds across all competitions.
His last goal arrived in January, the equaliser against Nottingham Forest in the Premier League, and the only other time he’s struck in 2025 was in an FA Cup win against Accrington Stanley.
In his last six starts for Arne Slot’s side, he’s managed just a single assist. And this during a crunch time of the season for the Premier League leaders.
The former Wolves winger blanked against Plymouth Argyle as the Reds crashed out of the FA Cup. He blanked in both starts against Paris Saint-Germain as the Ligue 1 side knocked the Reds out of Europe, and then he fluffed the best chance of the game for Liverpool in the Carabao Cup final, prior to the late Federico Chiesa goal.
He’s been at the scene of the failures for the Reds recently. It isn’t solely down to him, of course, but as the man tasked with spearheading the attack for Slot, more is expected.
The contrast between Jota and Isak is monumental.
The Liverpool man has disappeared during a crunch time. Isak is at his best in these big clashes.
This term, he’s scored in both games against top four chasing Chelsea, he netted twice in three games against Arsenal, including the Carabao Cup semi-final, and he has two goals and an assist against Liverpool.
The Newcastle No14 also has three goals and an assist in two Premier League games against third-placed Nottingham Forest.
There’s a reason the one-time Borussia Dortmund attacker is being courted by the likes of Arsenal and Chelsea. There’s a reason teams aren’t put off by the reported £150million price-tag.
He’s one of the best strikers in the world and you pay league-record fees for those types of players. He has the ability to single-handedly win the game for his team.
He could be the difference between a top-four push and a title challenge.
Liverpool need to add a match-winner to their ranks. They need that difference-maker in the final third.
Even if Salah is staying, the Reds need a reliable goal threat and goal scorer leading their line.
If, however, the three-time Golden Boot winner is going to depart at the end of the current season, the need for someone with the X-Factor in the final phase becomes a necessity rather than a nice to have.
Isak has that X-Factor. He’s shown it over the past two seasons with 48 goals for Newcastle across 55 appearances.
If the Reds want to mount another title challenge next season, Isak could be the one to spearhead it. He’s worthy of the club-record price-tag. He’s worthy of a league-record price-tag.
The moment in the final captured exactly why.
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