Rafa Benitez was at Anfield to watch his former clubs Newcastle United and Liverpool go head-to-head.
Newcastle United got a glimpse of their 2025 Carabao Cup opponents on Wednesday night, although next month’s Wembley showpiece will be on neutral ground.
Eddie Howe will hope for a different result – and a better performance – in the cup final, with Liverpool winning 2-0 on Merseyside following goals from Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister.
But to even go toe-to-toe with the Premier League leaders shows the progress Newcastle United have made since the PIF takeover in 2021.
Before that, Rafa Benitez knows all about the struggles Newcastle faced under previous owner Mike Ashley.
Why Rafa Benitez stayed at Newcastle after Premier League relegation
Benitez was adored by Newcastle fans during his three-year spell as Newcastle boss in 2016-2019.
Newcastle were 19th in the Premier League when Benitez was appointed manager in March 2016. Despite his best efforts, the Spaniard was unable to steer the club clear of the drop.
There was a break clause in Benitez’s contract that allowed him to leave if relegated, but the Spaniard decided to stay put on Tyneside and lead Newcastle to promotion in 2017.
When asked about Newcastle’s support before the Liverpool match, Benitez told TNT Sports: “I will tell you I decided to stay because of the fans.
“The atmosphere was amazing in our last game against Tottenham and then I decided to stay in the Championship because of the fans and the city.
“I was really pleased because my time over there was fantastic.”
Eddie Howe is carrying on Rafa Benitez progress
It was agony for fans when Benitez left Newcastle in 2019 following the expiration of his contract. The Magpies then endured two years under Steve Bruce before Howe’s arrival.
It has now been three years with Howe as manager, and under new ownership and a long-term project, he is building on Benitez’s success.
Newcastle returned to the Champions League for the first time in 20 years and now have a chance to end their 70-year trophy drought next month.
But who knows if any of this would have happened had Benitez not stayed and got Newcastle promoted back to the top flight.
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