A 3-1 defeat on the night meant a four-goal thrashing on aggregate, with Eddie Howe’s side unable to live with a City team that are supposedly misfiring. Newcastle’s players looked like they were running on empty as City’s midfielders enjoyed the freedom of Manchester throughout a first half in which they scored three goals, and the fear now is that with the games continuing to come thick and fast, the Magpies’ season could rapidly unravel.
The hamstring injury that forced Anthony Gordon to trudge from the field shortly before the interval is a major worry, further stretching resources that appear close to breaking point after another transfer window without a single addition. Whether it was PRS pressure, a lack of viable options or an intransigent refusal to spend money that was to blame, the failure to make a January signing already looks like being a mistake. At the very least, it has severely limited Howe’s options at a time when his team desperately needs a refresh.
Last night’s defeat, which featured two goals from Omar Marmoush and a third from Tijjani Reijnders, saw Howe’s attempt to hit City on the break in a 5-3-2 formation badly misfire. Newcastle were overrun in midfield and all over the place at the back, with a second-half improvement capped by a wonderful solo goal from substitute Anthony Elanga only coming once City had effectively stopped playing.
Newcastle had failed to score a single goal on their five previous visits to the Etihad Stadium under Howe, let alone claim a victory, so history was hardly on their side as they looked to overturn their first-leg deficit.
What they needed was a strong start. What they got instead was an even bigger mountain to climb after just seven minutes. City’s first meaningful attack saw a one-two between Marmoush and Reijnders release the formerinto the left of the 18-yard box.
Dan Burn slid in to make a covering tackle, but the Newcastle centre-half only succeeded in clipping the ball onto Marmoush, with the rebound looping over a helpless Aaron Ramsdale and rolling into the net. Three goals down on aggregate, it already felt like the game was up.
Things might have been different had Joe Willock equalised on the night two minutes later, but presented with a chance to at least make things interesting, the midfielder was found wanting. Gordon’s square ball released him into the left of the area, but rather than clipping a shot past James Trafford, Willock opted to try to go round the Manchester City goalkeeper. It was an ill-advised decision, with Ramsdale keeping the ball out.
Trafford, who turned down the option of a summer move to Tyneside, made another first-half save to prevent Gordon from driving home, but the vast majority of the game was played in Newcastle’s defensive third with City enjoying particular joy down their left.
Kieran Trippier was struggling to deal with Rayan Ait-Nouri’s overlapping runs, with Reijnders and Phil Foden both having shots blocked inside the penalty area.
Another City goal felt inevitable, and it arrived on the half-hour mark. Again, it came down Newcastle’s right as a move that started with Trafford bowling the ball out led to Antoine Semenyo delivering a low cross across the face of the six-yard box. Trippier’s attempted clearance resulted in the ball ballooning up in the air, and Marmoush headed home his second goal of the evening from close range.
Three minutes later, and Newcastle were three behind on the night, five down on aggregate. The Magpies’ defending was non-existent as Reijnders strolled through midfield, with the Dutchman feeding Semenyo on the right of the box. Burn’s challenge sent the ball breaking towards Reijnders, who calmly stroked a low shot past Ramsdale.
It had become a thoroughly miserable evening from a black-and-white perspective, but things got even worse just before half-time when Gordon fell to the floor clutching his hamstring. The winger’s discomfort was obvious, and he trudged straight off. If he is sidelined for two or three weeks, he could miss matches in the FA Cup and Champions League as well as the league.
With three more substitutes coming on at the interval, Newcastle improved in the second half, and after Yoane Wissa was denied what looked a certain penalty when he was pulled down by Max Alleyne, Elanga claimed his first Magpies goal with a brilliant strike. After bursting between two City defenders and darting around Nico O’Reilly, Elanga curled a fantastic strike into the far corner.