Louise Taylor was at St James’ Park tonight. Here’s her verdict. Thanks for reading this MBM.
Eddie Howe talks to TNT. “Good start from us … really good for half an hour … two things happened … we couldn’t sustain the level we were playing at in terms of our intensity … they certainly responded … they played really well … it is a tough one for us to take … we maybe just ran out of gas … we became stretched … we didn’t always have the answers … they are a very good team … I don’t think we touched the ball at the start of the second half and we conceded … that was a body blow … we needed the ball to generate pressure and we couldn’t get enough of it … the crowd were magnificent today … they didn’t have a lot to shout about after that initial period … they stayed with us … cheering at the end … we’re going to need them for Tuesday [against Barcelona] … that is now really our season … it’s in the hands of the next two games in the Champions League.”
Pep Guardiola talks to TNT. “We played so good … the first 20 minutes in this stadium always happens … Savinho and Jeremy [Doku] so decisive … the best performance we have played in this stadium in our time together here … really, really good … Savinho in the one against one is unstoppable … he will be a top-class player … the defenders, the midfielders … brilliant … to beat Newcastle you have to perform really well … there are [refereeing] actions that are not understandable … when Jeremy is pulled from behind … everywhere it is a foul except here … it is what it is … there will be a two-game ban … there will be holidays and the team will continue.”
John Stones speaks to TNT Sports. “Start of the season was great … then I picked up an injury … it’s been tough to get back in the team … it’s just nice to be out there, playing and contributing … the rhythm is so important … I’m so pleased for [Savinho] … it’s difficult, his coming back from injury … there are so many big games coming up … everyone is going to have to pull their weight … keep setting the standards for ourselves … one game at a time … give it everything.”
Post-match postbag, courtesy of Chris Paraskevas, pound for pound the co-author of this MBM.
When Eddie Howe’s Newcastle “announced” themselves as a future challenger to Man City in their famous 3-3 draw in 2022, it was a performance defined by intensity, aggression and a bit of arrogance: reputations meant nothing.
That display feels like such a long time ago and I’m wondering whether Eddie has a mental block against Pep and is overcomplicating it: too much respect shown, too many funky formations... just keep it simple and get at them.
This defeat won’t enter the Golden Hall of Newcastle Cup Embarrassments, but it still stings all the same, coming after a morale-boosting win against Man U.
Missed opportunity and we all know it.
Pep wanders over to celebrate with his fans, high up in the Leazes End. Fists clenched in the air. And why not? Manchester City’s dream of a fourth FA Cup final in a row lives on. So does their hope of a quadruple. What price Arsenal in the quarters? If that comes out of the bag, England’s best two teams would face off in three high-stakes showdowns in the space of a month! Meanwhile Newcastle’s season now stands or falls on the Champions League. Barcelona come to town on Tuesday, and Eddie Howe will hope the Newcastle of tonight’s first 30 minutes turn up, rather than the one put to the sword during the following hour of action.
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FULL TIME: Newcastle United 1-3 Manchester City
Manchester City go into the velvet bag for the quarter-final draw. The quadruple still a very real possibility. Newcastle’s 71-year wait for FA Cup number seven goes on.
90 min +3: Both sets of players wandering about now. Everyone knows this is over.
90 min +2: Semenyo slaloms into the Newcastle box from the left and plays an inviting ball through the six-yard box. Nobody in blue to poke home. Cherki collects at the far stick and pulls back for Reijnders, who skies a shot from 12 yards.
90 min: Tonali hits the free kick flat. Half cleared. Gordon returns the ball, but it’s easy pickings for Trafford. Then Wissa is booked for clipping the heel of Gonzalez. There will be five additional minutes.
89 min: Willock advances down the left and goes over Cherki’s carelessly hanging leg. A free kick just to the left of the City box. If Newcastle are to dramatically force extra time, they’ll need something from this, surely. Tonali prepares to take.
87 min: The resulting free kick is sent into the mixer, and Cherki attempts to dribble his way in the 1920s style through a crowded box. He nearly makes it through everyone as well. But he can’t get a shot away, and nothing comes from a corner that follows. Cherki and Ake nevertheless embrace, laughing, enjoying the moment. City having fun now.
86 min: Semenyo jinks down the left and leads Joelinton all the way to the corner flag, then draws a frustrated foul. Joelinton couldn’t complain if he saw a second yellow, but the referee shows mercy.
84 min: City move the ball around professionally, taking care of both it and the clock.
82 min: Newcastle do a lot of huffing and puffing, but not much advancing up the pitch.
80 min: Livramento comes on for Hall.
79 min: City make a double change, swapping out Doku and Savinho for Cherki and Foden. “This is a little too docile,” sighs Chris Paraskevas. “I wouldn’t say our season is on the line but surely we can muster something better at home against a heavily rotated City, in a competition we could conceivably win.”
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77 min: Willock crosses deep from the left, and earns a corner on the right. From the set piece, City stream forward on the counter. Joelinton barges into the back of Savinho, and the referee has no choice but to flash yellow.
75 min: Now it’s Hall’s turn to throw a hissy fit, as he stumbles along the right touchline like Will Osula did for his winner against Manchester United … only he doesn’t stay on his feet. He thinks O’Reilly clipped him. The referee disagrees, and there goes the head. He calms down quickly enough, to be fair.
73 min: Marmoush won’t be taking home a hat-trick ball tonight. He’s replaced by Semenyo … and earns a huge hug from his delighted manager. Pep all sweetness and light now. That full-blown tanty, thrown a mere 18 minutes ago, suddenly seems an age away.
72 min: Thiaw sends a simple pass, intended for Burn, the pair unmarked, out of play for a throw. That just about sums it up for Newcastle in this second half. But if nothing else, it allows the hosts to make another change, as Gordon comes on for Woltemade.
70 min: The City fans, up in the heavens in the Leazes, entertain themselves with the Poznan. They’re making all the noise right now. St James’ Park otherwise quite flat.
68 min: Hall advances down the right but can’t force his cross past Doku. Newcastle need something and quick, if that 71-year-long wait for their seventh FA Cup is to end this season.
67 min: This could get ugly for Newcastle. Doku sashays down the left and reaches the corner of the six-yard box. He rolls across for Savinho, but the pass isn’t quite there. Newcastle hack clear in a panic. For the sake of an inch here and there, City could have scored three in the last four minutes. They’re ripping Newcastle apart at will.
GOAL! Newcastle United 1-3 Manchester City (Marmoush 65)
Marmoush gets his goal! Nunes advances down the right channel. He chops a pass inside for Marmoush, who rips a rising rasper into the top left from the edge of the D. Unstoppable! Pep now in the throes of glee as he celebrates that screamer!
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64 min: Stones, quarterbacking from deep, splits Newcastle’s defence open with a glorious reverse ball down the inside-right channel. Savinho is free! He tries to find Marmoush in the middle when he really should have shot. The pass doesn’t find its target and Thiaw clears. But no matter, because …
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63 min: Newcastle make a triple change. Elanga, Trippier and Osula are replaced by Burn, Joelinton and Wissa. Hall moves over to right-back, which means Burn will be tasked with keeping Savinho quiet. Good luck with that.
62 min: … Newcastle clear their lines.
61 min: … one corner leads to another …. which leads to another … and then …
60 min: Marmoush has a whack at goal. Ramsdale parries. Reijnders tries to steer the rebound into the bottom right. Hall, unsure as to whether the ball’s going in or sailing wide, hooks backwards. He couldn’t take the risk. Thiaw slams out for a corner. From which …
59 min: In the meantime, Newcastle do a bit of probing, Willock hacking over the bar from the edge of the box.
57 min: It takes a while, but Pep eventually cools down and sits back in the dugout, laughing and joking at the absurdity of it all.
55 min: Pep is booked for a proper toddler’s tanty, screaming and spinning and removing his coat in impotent rage. It’s an over-reaction to a perceived tug back on Doku by Botman. There wasn’t much in it, so it’s all very odd.
53 min: Some loose play up the other end now. Ramsdale, Elanga and Thiaw make a meal of playing out from the back, and are very lucky that Marmoush slips when an opportunity presents itself down the inside-left channel.
52 min: O’Reilly takes a poor touch 25 yards from his own goal, gifting possession to Woltemade, who aims a shot towards the top right. But there’s not enough pace, not enough whip. Easy for Trafford.
50 min: … so having said that, Savinho romps past Hall again, cuts in from the right, and tries a curler that goes out for a throw on the other side. That’s showbiz.
49 min: Well, that didn’t take long. Savinho is almost unplayable tonight. Marmoush, you’ll have noted, didn’t try to replicate his no-shoot shot.
GOAL! Newcastle United 1-2 Manchester City (Marmoush 47)
Nope, they don’t fancy extra time all right. Savinho dribbles down the right. He’s got the beating of Hall but finds Nunes on the overlap. Nunes crosses low. Marmoush, a couple of yards out, can’t miss. He traps and slams home.
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46 min: City are on the front foot again immediately. Within a minute, O’Reilly fires a low cross in from the left. Marmoush traps on the penalty spot but can’t get a shot in because Woltemade tracks back and stops him. A very early sign that City don’t fancy extra time.
Manchester City get the second half started. No changes. A reminder that this fifth-round tie will go to extra time and penalties if required.
Half-time postbag. “For some reason we dropped very deep after a high octane start. For me the midfield is lacking a bit of bite, and maybe Joelinton can help us get up the park. Apparently he’s already squared off with Kolo Toure on the bench. Actually, I hope the cameras just focus on that during the 2nd half” – Chris Paraskevas
“I reckon that Savinho goal is absolutely peak Pep: ‘I want you to score without taking a shot’ ” – Martin Gamage
Half-time ad break. The Guardian has kicked off a new chapter in puzzles with the launch of its first daily football game, On the ball. It is now live in the app for both iOS and Android … so what are you waiting for?
HALF TIME: Newcastle United 1-1 Manchester City
That flew by. Great entertainment. A half of two halves, with Newcastle dominant for a while, before City decided the best form of defence is attack, and piled forward accordingly. More please!
45 min: Some dugout action, as City assistant manager Kolo Toure is booked for his part in a philosophical back-and-forth with Newcastle sub Joelinton. There will be one additional first-half minute.
44 min: Hall slide-tackles to whip the ball away from Savinho. The ball gets stuck under his arms as he falls on all fours. City claim a penalty but they’re not getting one. Then Reijnders meets a ball dropping over his shoulder and slices it wide right. Newcastle really need this half-time whistle.
43 min: Newcastle are punch-drunk. They’re desperate to hear the half-time whistle and regroup.
41 min: Ramsdale, stunned at this sudden turnaround in momentum, dithers with the ball at his feet. He’s stripped by Marmoush, who cuts back for O’Reilly. Ramsdale is extremely fortunate that O’Reilly doesn’t go direct for the unguarded net, pausing and winning a corner, which is wasted. But Newcastle are suddenly all over the show!
40 min: Savinho, now an artist in motion. He glides down the right and cuts back for Reijnders, who steams into the box and sends a low shot across Ramsdale and inches wide of the left-hand post.
GOAL! Newcastle United 1-1 Manchester City (Savinho 39)
This is an absurd goal. Doku drops a shoulder to dribble past Trippier down the left. He fires a low ball through the six-yard box. Ramsdale misses it. Savinho, rooted to the spot six yards out, at 45 degrees towards the goal, computes the angles, remains stock still, lets the ball hit him, and doesn’t move an inch as it bobbles slowly towards the line and over it. Mere mortals would have made a panicked lunge towards the ball to ensure it went in. Not this cool dude, the artist simply admiring his work. Can you showboat without moving a muscle? If so, Savinho’s just done it!
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38 min: Still no space in that final third for City, but Newcastle are being forced to punt clear again and again, and the visitors keep coming back. And then …
36 min: Manchester City are dominating possession now, but they can’t find any space in Newcastle’s final third.
34 min: Doku, plying his trade up the other end now, slips a ball down the channel for Reijnders to race onto. The midfielder extends a leg and pokes the ball goalwards, but he’s stretching at his limit, and can’t get any power behind the poke. Ramsdale deals with it.
33 min: Elanga’s delivery is flat and hopeless. The ball’s half-cleared towards Hall on the left. Hall swings in a dangerous-looking diagonal, but it flies out of play for a goal kick, and it might have been the case that Newcastle had half of their team offside anyway.
32 min: Trippier takes on Doku down the right. Shouldn’t this be the other way around? Anyway, Doku puts in a forward’s challenge and upends Trippier, who was going nowhere near the corner flag. Elanga to take the free kick.
30 min: Tonali skips his way out of trouble near a crowded left touchline, and prepares to dribble upfield. He’s clipped by Savinho. Another referee might have shown yellow, but the ref shows the young forward mercy.
29 min: Savinho dribbles hard down the right. Hard and fast. He backs himself in a footrace with Hall, and makes enough space for a shot, though it’s from a tight angle, on the corner of the six-yard box. He fires low, and Ramsdale bundles the ball around the post. Nothing comes of the resulting corner.
27 min: Newcastle have taken eight attempts at City’s goal already, three of them on target. It’s been a blistering start by the hosts. City haven’t got anything on target yet.
25 min: A Newcastle free kick out on the right. Newcastle line up on the edge of the City box. Trippier swings it in. A bit flat. O’Reilly half clears. The ball drops to Barnes, who tries to send a volley towards the top-right corner of the goal. He finds the top-right corner of the Leazes.
23 min: … Savinho fails to beat the first man. But the ball comes back to him, and he tees up Reijnders, who takes a whack from the edge of the box. The ball’s deflected off a sky-blue shirt for a goal kick. Everything going Newcastle’s way at the moment. Could that 71-year FA Cup drought be coming to an end? (Going a bit early with that, admittedly.)
22 min: Manchester City try to respond quickly, Nunes making a deep run on the right and trapping a long pass exquisitely. But his second touch isn’t quite so good and Hall can clear. But City come again, through Nunes down the right once more, and he forces Tonali into the concession of a corner, from which …
20 min: Barnes, his tail up, scampers down the left again. He cuts back this time, teeing up Tonali, who lashes high and wide from 25 yards. Newcastle have been excellent so far.
19 min: That move was started by a lovely spin into space by Botman. Barnes’ arm was offside, but you can’t score with that, and the rest of him was being played on by Khusanov in the middle.
GOAL! Newcastle United 1-0 Manchester City (Barnes 18)
This had been coming. Barnes chases Tonali’s pass down the inside-left channel. He’s in acres of space. He enters the box, runs around the ball, opens his body, and steers a curler across Trafford and into the right-hand side of the net. Lovely finish!
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17 min: Willock and Khusanov chase a loose ball down Newcastle’s inside-right channel. A coming together. Both players require a little bit of treatment, but they’re good to keep going.
15 min: Reijnders trips Barnes near the centre circle; Ramsdale launches the free kick long. Stones heads clear, but not confidently so. Barnes picks up possession down the left and crosses low. Osula slashes at the ball; Thiaw does likewise and it flies wide left. Newcastle are certainly unsettling City’s defence.
13 min: … so there have already been a couple of big signs that this City defence isn’t too steady under the high ball. The early Hall throw, and now that corner. No wonder Eddie Howe was talking about getting some crosses in for Woltemade.
11 min: Osula sprints after Tonali’s speculative long pass down the inside-right channel. He nearly gets ahead of Stones, but the defender sticks to his shoulder. Osula can’t get a shot away, and neither can Barnes, arriving later to help. Khusanov is forced to prod behind for a corner, from which Trafford spills an Osula header. Woltemade meets the spill, dinking a header over the stranded Trafford, but Gonzalez is on the line to hook clear. Newcastle so close on a couple of occasions!
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9 min: A bit of time and space for Elanga, who cuts in from the right flank and aims a dipper towards the bottom-right corner. Trafford handles a pacy shot well.
7 min: Savinho seems to get the better of Hall with a dribble down the right, but strangely elects to chop back rather than powering into the box. Then, when the ball goes out for a Newcastle throw, Gonzalez hits a crossfield pass in frustration, and is extremely fortunate not to go into the book. The home fans not happy.
6 min: … Barnes heads clear under no pressure, Savinho having curled to the near post.
5 min: Well that was a bright start by both teams. It all augurs well. And here’s Savinho, his presence down the City right forcing Barnes into the concession of a corner, from which …
3 min: City respond through Reijnders, who enters the box down the right and whistles a low drive wide right. He’s then clattered by the late-arriving Thiaw, and City want a penalty for rough play, but the referee’s not interested and VAR doesn’t intervene.
2 min: … and so does the two-minute mark, but not before Newcastle win the first corner of the game down the right. The corner ends up with Tonali, just to the left of the D. His curler evades everyone in the middle. Goal kick.
1 min: The kick-off’s sent long, and Newcastle win a throw deep in City territory on the left. Hall launches long. The ball nearly drops first to Woltemade, then Elanga, but neither can get an effort on target and turn themselves into the Jackie Milburn de nos jours. The 45-second mark ticks over without the scoreboard being troubled.
Newcastle United get the ball rolling. City are kicking towards the Gallowgate in this first half.
The teams are out! Newcastle in their black and white, Manchester City in their sky blue. Blaydon Races, Hey Jude and Going Home: Theme of the Local Hero the tuneful triptych that tees up tonight’s fun. We’ll be off once that sax stops tootling.
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Pre-match postbag. “Really looking foeward to this one, despite the fact that this fixture is the new version of AC Milan v Barcelona. (Remember they used to play each other around 15 times a season in the Champions League?) The FA Cup feels particularly important this season (only thing we can realistically win) and it would be nice to right the wrongs of previous half-baked campaigns. I’m glad Eddie Howe has recalled Woltemade too. There’s a brilliant player in there and he just needs time and support” – Chris Paraskevas
“Yes, ten changes for City, but how many of them would walk into Newcastle’s line-up? At least half. And why did the BBC choose Wolves v Liverpool over this?” – Andrew Goudie
This is a rerun of the 1955 FA Cup final. Jackie Milburn opened the scoring for Newcastle after 45 seconds, a record for a Wembley final at the time. City went down to ten men after 22 minutes, Jimmy Meadows stretchered off in an era when subs were not permitted. But they made a good fist of it, Bobby Johnstone equalising just before the break. Legs went during the second half, though, as Bobby Mitchell and George Hannah secured a 3-1 win for the Toon. It remains the last time Newcastle won the cup; by contrast, Manchester City have won it five times since then, and one of their players now holds the fastest-goal record too.
Pep’s turn to chat with TNT. “It is always a big challenge … this stadium … incredibly aggressive in the first part … long balls … a Champions League club … [Erling Haaland’ was not planned to play … I prefer to give him a good training session.”
And why so many changes, Pep? “Because we have soooooooo many games!” A twinkle in his eye as he makes his unequivocally serious point.
Eddie Howe talks to TNT Sports. “[The Manchester United win] is a big boost for us … a good performance … 11 v 10 … confidence … we need to take that into this one … it wasn’t the draw we wanted … but we’re at home … we need to play with the same energy to get the crowd with us again … we have made a few changes to keep the players fresh … I’d love to see [Nick Woltemade] on the end of a few crosses.”
Newcastle United make four changes to their starting XI after the 2-1 win over Manchester United. Sven Botman, Joe Willock, Nick Woltemade and Wednesday night’s matchwinning hero Will Osula replace Dan Burn, Joelinton and Anthony Gordon, who drop to the bench, and the suspended Jacob Ramsey.
Manchester City wipe the slate clean, just about, following their 2-2 home draw with Nottingham Forest. Ten changes, which means it’s easier to tell you the identity of the only starter still standing: Matheus Nunes. Erling Haaland has the night off.
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The teams
Newcastle United: Ramsdale, Trippier, Botman, Thiaw, Hall, Tonali, Willock, Barnes, Woltemade, Elanga, Osula.
Subs: Pope, Joelinton, Wissa, Gordon, Livramento, Jacob Murphy, Burn, Alex Murphy, Neave.
Manchester City: Trafford, Matheus Luiz, Khusanov, Stones, Ake, Gonzalez, Reijnders, O’Reilly, Savio, Marmoush, Doku.
Subs: Donnarumma, Dias, Cherki, Guehi, Rodri, Silva, Ait Nouri, Semenyo, Foden.
Referee: Sam Barrott (West Yorkshire)
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Preamble
Welcome to the fifth match between Newcastle United and Manchester City this season. The previous four don’t offer too much in the way of clues: City bossed Newcastle in both legs of the League Cup semi-final, but Newcastle won this corresponding fixture in the league, and recently gave City an almighty fright with a spirited performance in defeat at the Etihad. Throw in the fact that City will be slightly dispirited after losing ground in the title race midweek, while Newcastle are high on life after a sensational victory over old foes Manchester United, and you can make a proper case for both teams emerging victorious tonight. Entertainment ahoy! Kick-off is at 8pm GMT. It’s on!
(And to think they could feasibly face each other in the Champions League final as well.)
