We asked Davey Hat-Trick to give us his match ratings and player comments after Manchester City 3 Newcastle 1.
No doubt some knives will be out for Eddie and the lads today, I understand that, but I’m not sure it’s fair.
The only way Newcastle were ever going to get to Wembley again was to push up, go on the front foot and hope for the best.
Keeping it tight at the back was never an option if we were hoping to score three without reply at the home of one of the best teams in the world.
Of course, the problem with that approach is that you leave a huge amount of space for the opposition to run into, and that’s what Manchester City did, repeatedly and well. Some bad luck, some poor passing and a lot of naivety saw the contest ended long before half time. We had a couple of good chances to keep things interesting but didn’t take them.
The second half looked much better from a Newcastle perspective, but by that time, Manchester City didn’t need to do anything. We scored a good goal, missed a fairly routine chance, fluffed a couple of others, but at least ended the contest with some pride intact.
I hate to say ‘I told you so’, but last time I did the ratings I stressed that Kieran Trippier can’t be expected to play twice a week, that we have no cover for Lewis Hall, and that we are going to pick up injuries due to the workload. So last night saw Jacob Murphy at left wing back – and then right back – in the second half, and Anthony Gordon off with what looks like a hamstring injury. I told you so.
Credit to the 5,300+ Newcastle United fans who made the journey from Tyneside. They contributed about 90% of the atmosphere at a below-capacity Etihad and were still behind their team at the end.
Aaron Ramsdale 7
I thought he played quite well.
Made some good stops – especially from Haaland – and wasn’t at fault for Man City’s goals
Kieran Trippier 5
His error allowed Reijnders to score Man City’s third, and to be honest, it was a difficult night for Tripps against City’s counter attack.
Malick Thiaw 6
Was often out of position whenever Man City countered, but I think that was a result of our (justifiable) tactical approach, rather than Malick not knowing his job.
Got an assist – small consolation.
Sven Botman 6
Much the same as Thiaw.
Played much further up the pitch than normal and was therefore exposed when City recovered possession.
Had a chance for a goal but couldn’t convert.
Dan Burn 5
Not his night.
Bad luck led directly to Man City’s first and he seemed a bit out of sorts in the first half.
A bit better in the second half but he won’t look back on his performance with affection.
Lewis Hall 7
Our best player in the first half, although that is damning him with faint praise.
Battled hard and couldn’t be blamed for our disastrous first half showing,
Subbed off at half time to save his legs rather than – I sincerely hope – an injury.
Jacob Ramsey 5.5
He’s improving.
I thought he showed some fight last night, although he struggled to influence things.
I think he’s in the ‘solid but not spectacular’ group.
Sandro Tonali 6
I was quite happy with Sandro’s contribution in the circumstances.
He was looking to control things and trying to find passes that would open Man City up.
Joe Willock 5
Joe has been our best midfielder of late but was not last night.
Had a great opportunity to score early on but didn’t take it. Didn’t do much after that and was hooked at half time.
Nick Woltemade 3
In Nick’s defence, he got no service, and wandered back into midfield just to remind his team mates he was playing.
Sprayed one or two nice passes around but he looks low on confidence and low on impact.
Anthony Gordon 5
Missed a good chance in the first half, and was pretty anonymous thereafter. Went down feeling his hammy and was off before half time.
SUBS
Harvey Barnes 7
Context: Man City had the game in the bag by the time any of our subs entered the fray, so most of them looked better than those they replaced.
But you can only judge what you see and Barnes looked good.
Was available for the ball out of defence and did OK when he got it.
Jacob Murphy 6
A less humble player would be complaining to his manager.
Brought on to replace Lewis Hall at left wing back – a position I can’t imagine he’s ever played in before, then moved to right back when we went to a back four.
Remarkably, he acquitted himself quite well.
Yoane Wissa 6
Gave the Man City defence a few issues with his direct running.
Wasted a good opportunity when he was through and failed to connect with another. Could have had a pen.
A promising display but he needs to convert his chances.
Anthony Elanga 7.5
Again, context, but Elanga was arguably our Player of the Match.
Broke his scoring duck with a lovely goal, should have scored a second, almost got an assist for Wissa, and gave the Man City defence plenty to worry about.
Hopefully, his confidence will have been boosted by this display.
William Osula 5
On with 15 to go and didn’t really do a lot in a game that was over as a contest long before then
On current form, I might put him ahead of Woltemade in the pecking order.
Manchester City 3 Newcastle 1 – Wednesday 4 February 2026 8pm
Match Stats
Goals:
Newcastle United :
Elanga 62
Man City:
Marmoush 7, 29 Reijnders 32
Possession was Newcastle 37% Man City 63%
Total shots were Newcastle 12 Man City 18
Shots on target were Newcastle 5 Man City 8
Corners were Newcastle 4 Man City 5
Touches in the opposition box Newcastle 14 Man City 34
Newcastle team v Man City:
Ramsdale, Trippier (Osula 76), Thiaw, Botman, Burn, Hall (Jacob Murphy 46), Tonali, Ramsey, Willock (Elanga 46), Gordon (Barnes 44), Woltemade (Wissa 46)
Subs:
Pope, Alex Murphy, Neave, Shahar