Tired Newcastle United exit FA Cup as Manchester City run riot
Despite a strong start to the game, the Magpies soon showed signs of fatigue and were ultimately outclassed by Manchester City.
As Newcastle United prepared to take on Manchester City for the fifth time this season across all competitions, the feeling around St. James’ Park was one of quiet expectation. After a brilliant performance against Manchester United in the Premier League in midweek, they now had the opportunity to reach the last eight of the FA Cup, and move a step closer to another trophy and a route back into Europe.
For a club that wants to be one of the best in the world by 2030, continually qualifying for Europe would appear to be a necessity. Returning to the Champions League is, barring a miracle, out of reach this season, but qualification for the Europa League would be a much-needed positive. Via the Premier League that is still possible, but a challenge indeed, meaning that triumphing in the FA Cup seemed like a good alternative.
Certainly, when Harvey Barnes opened the scoring, it felt like the dream was possible, but then Manchester City showed just why they are an elite club, and Newcastle, at present, are not.
The FA Cup as a pathway back into Europe was gone, although Eddie Howe refused to be negative, and said that the upcoming Champions League last 16 encounter with Barcelona is “the biggest game in the club’s history”.
There is “no time to dwell” on the FA Cup exit, as Howe put it, which given the magnitude of the two-legged Barcelona fixture is understandable, but it gives the feeling that Newcastle are placing all of their eggs in one basket. The FA Cup, on the surface at least, would have appeared to be more winnable than the Champions League, but Newcastle are clearly targeting the latter.
And what does it say about the Magpies’ hopes in the Premier League? Their form domestically from now until the end of the season will be telling, but soon enough that may be all they have left to play for.
Both sides were much changed from the start, but Newcastle, desperate to make a success of this season, carried the bigger threat. William Osula should have done better when played through by Sandro Tonali, and Nick Woltemade saw a header cleared off the line.
The only moment the visitors had early on was Tijjani Reijnders firing an effort wide of the post, with Malick Thiaw doing enough to put the Manchester City midfielder off. Pep Guardiola’s side were certainly not playing with their usual swagger, and they were unable to prevent the Magpies from opening the scoring just shy of the midpoint of the first half.
With Sven Botman having done well to retain possession for Newcastle, Sandro Tonali then slid a perfectly weighted pass through to Harvey Barnes. The Newcastle winger drove into the box from the left and made no mistake with his shot, curling the ball past James Trafford.
Unfortunately for the home side, in taking the lead, they fell into their usual trap of dropping too deep and soaking up too much pressure. It felt as if their lead was not sustainable, and that ultimately proved to be the case. Manchester City found an equaliser as half time approached, albeit in rather strange fashion.
Having reached the byline on the left, Jérémy Doku fired a wicked ball across goal, but instead of another blue shirt prodding it home, it ricocheted off Savinho at the back post and just about scrambled over the line, despite Aaron Ramsdale’s best efforts to keep it out.
With the scores level, Manchester City then followed up their equaliser with a barrage of attacks as they looked to turn the game on its head. They penned Newcastle in their own final third, and really should have done better with some of the opportunities that they created for themselves.
Manchester City did not manage to find the lead by half time, but it did not take them long to get themselves ahead in the second half. Once again the visitors got to the byline, Matheus Nunez on this occasion, before pulling the ball back, with Omar Marmoush this time on hand to find the net. It was the worst possible start to the second period for Newcastle.
With Newcastle now behind, it became a question of whether they could wrestle back the momentum of the match, with the juggernaut of Manchester City having assumed total control since the Magpies initially took the lead.
Possession did become less scarce than it had been, allowing Newcastle to at least progress up the field at times, but apart from a Joe Willock shot which fell nicely for him but was fired way over the bar (and probably found its way into the Tyne), the possibility of Newcastle scoring a second looked unlikely. Fatigue was kicking in for a side who have played more games than anyone else in the Premier League this season across all competitions.
It was telling that when Omar Marmoush picked up the ball just outside the box, he had enough space to line up a shot and arrow it directly into the top corner for Manchester City’s third.
The remaining time left in the match became a non event. With the result settled, both sides were looking ahead to their Champions League fixtures in midweek, but for Newcastle this felt like a night of what could have been. Their start to the match had been so good, and their lead was deserved, but the encounter soon became a real showcase of just how far Newcastle need to go to become an elite club.
If CEO David Hopkinson is to be believed, that will be in less than four years time, but at present it feels a long, long way off.