Manchester City are through to the League Cup final after a deserved 3-1 win over Newcastle United. After a strong first half, the Sky Blues eased off slightly and the visitors were able to pull one back. However, the Citizens’ place in the final was never in danger.
Thanks to a 2-0 win in the first leg, Manchester City already had one foot in the League Cup final before the clash with Newcastle United. City coach Pep Guardiola, whose team had won only one of their last six league games, made several changes after the 2-2 draw at Tottenham, sending Trafford, Aké, Foden, Nico, Reijnders, and Marmoush onto the pitch in place of Donnarumma, Guehi, Cherki, Rodri, Bernardo Silva, and Haaland.
Newcastle coach Eddie Howe’s team was also going through a bit of a slump, with only one point from their last three league games. Compared to the 4-1 defeat at Liverpool, he changed his starting lineup in three positions. Ramsdale, Botman, and Woltemade replaced Pope, Barnes, and Elanga on the bench.
Marmoush scores early – Magpies weak
At the Etihad Stadium, the home side started strongly and dominated the game, while the reigning League Cup winners had to regroup and were exposed at the back. Marmoush scored the early 1-0 (7th minute) with a bit of luck after a fine one-two with Reijnders, as Burns was unable to clear with a sliding tackle. The Magpies failed to respond immediately, as Willock was unable to control the ball in a promising position after a pass from Gordon (9th minute).
Otherwise, the home side continued to set the tone. Reijnders narrowly missed the far corner (12th minute), Thiaw just managed to clear Ait Nouri’s attempt for a corner (17th minute), and O’Reilly missed Semenyo’s pass at the far post by a hair (18th minute). A shockingly weak Newcastle, with a pale Woltemade who was to be substituted at half-time, then became somewhat dangerous again after a good 20 minutes, but Trafford was on hand to save Gordon’s shot from 12 meters.
City makes it clear – Elanga brings Newcastle back into it
But then Marmoush added another. Trippier was able to clear Semenyo’s shot, but the former Frankfurt player confidently headed the resulting lob into the empty net (29′). And ManCity added another three minutes later. Semenyo was still stuck on Trippier, but Reijnders was on hand and coolly scored from 11 meters to make it 3-0. The Dutchman then missed a chance to add another from a tight angle (38′), while Botman at least got a header on target at the other end (45’+2).
After the break, substitute Wissa missed a chance to start a possible comeback from 14 meters out (46′), before the home side took control of the game again. Reijnders shot wide from the back (56′), but that was to be City’s only chance for a long time, while the Magpies grew stronger. After a great solo run, Elanga found the far corner with the help of the inside post to make it 3-1 (62′). Eight minutes later, the substitute missed a chance to pull one back from a great position after a cross from Barnes. The Citizens regained control of the game, and NUFC’s momentum faded. Marmoush (80′) and Haaland (83′, 86′) had chances to increase the lead in the closing stages, but the score remained 3-1.
In the final on March 22, the Skyblues will face Arsenal, who beat Chelsea 1-0 on Tuesday evening. Manchester City will face Liverpool on Sunday (5:30 p.m.). The day before (6:30 p.m.), Newcastle United will face Brentford.