Newcastle were beaten 2-0 by Manchester City at St James’ Park in the Carabao Cup semi-final first leg
Newcastle United head coach Eddie Howe had warned his players had to be at their very best to be able to beat Manchester City in the Carabao Cup semi-finals.
“I think Manchester City are the hardest team to play over two legs in the country,” Howe said in his pre-match press conference. “Pep, I’m sure, tactically will have something ready for us and we’ll have to be at our best to get through.”
With the second leg taking place at the Etihad Stadium – a ground Newcastle have not won at since October 2014 – the margin for error in the first leg at St James’ Park was next to nil on Tuesday evening.
Howe knew Pep Guardiola’s side were going to dominate possession. But he had confidence his Newcastle side could force them into mistakes and punish them, either by beating their press or hurting them in transition each time they turned over the ball.
That game plan was clear pretty quickly in just the fourth minute when Newcastle managed to regain possession and within a matter of seconds, Joelinton had found Bruno Guimaraes, who passed the ball to Anthony Gordon who managed to cut inside and spread a crossfield pass to Jacob Murphy in a dangerous position on the right-hand side.
Murphy’s first time cross to Yoane Wissa was pinpoint. The Newcastle United forward’s first time finish from point blank range was anything but, as he lacked the composure to slot the ball past James Trafford before blazing it over the crossbar.
In a game of fine margins, that was a huge moment, but Howe, despite being frustrated, showed his appreciation for his team’s incisiveness on the touchline. Newcastle had shown how they could hurt City at speed and knew they had to give them as little time to react defensively if they were going to penetrate their backline.
The game plan was set and it was a fascinating tactical battle between two of English football’s finest current managers.
But that approach requires relentless standards and Newcastle could ill afford any drop off in their pressing when City were in possession. So when Bernardo Silva was able to idly dribble the ball across his own box without any pressure or any challenge from a Newcastle player, Howe was absolutely incensed.
Wissa and Jacob Ramsey, two of Newcastle’s major summer signings, were the two players in the vicinity who could and should have made life uncomfortable for the City captain.
Howe made sure in no uncertain terms they knew he felt so, too. The Newcastle boss could audibly be heard screaming ‘f—— hell’ before berating both Wissa and Ramsey for not following a clear tactical instruction.
Ramsey fired back at the Newcastle boss, protesting his innocence, but Howe was visibly aggrieved, and he had every right to be, as he responded to the midfielder before turning towards the bench where he continued to vent his frustration.
Thankfully, Newcastle weren’t punished in that instance but it was a reminder of the standards the Magpies boss expects and the standards you need to maintain for 90 minutes to be able to beat one of the best sides in world football.
It also served as a reminder that perhaps the club’s summer signings still aren’t fully up to speed with the ‘Newcastle Way’. There are mitigating factors, of course, but fans will want to see more from players the club heavily invested in during the summer transfer window – particularly given the club’s PSR situation is a consideration over whether they should sign a new defender in the January transfer window amid an unprecedented injury crisis in that position.
In his defence, it was one of Ramsey’s better games since his £40million move from Aston Villa and he does seem to be growing into his role as a Newcastle midfielder. He is tidy in possession and was very good last night at keeping the ball with players on his back against an intense Man City press. When Newcastle have perhaps lacked co