The Wembley arch lit up the night sky, but it offered little comfort to Newcastle United players and staff in the darkness of defeat. The iconic structure, after all, had long turned red to mark Manchester United's Carabao Cup final win by the time the Newcastle team bus pulled away following the Magpies' 2-0 loss.
Those on board did not have far to go, at least. Family and friends were waiting at the nearby Hilton to lift spirits, but Eddie Howe only spent a few minutes in the ballroom. The Newcastle boss had questions he needed answering.
"There was a lot of disappointment and I just wanted to watch the game again," he told ChronicleLive. "There was a line drawn at that moment. The cup final hype that was there for weeks and weeks and weeks probably affected us. It was nice to go, 'Right. Let's get back to the Premier League.'"
