Man City 3-1 Newcastle: City brush Carabao Cup holders aside | OneFootball

Manchester City booked their place in the Carabao Cup final against Arsenal with a clinical 3-1 win over Newcastle United at the Etihad Stadium, securing a 5-1 aggregate victory.

Omar Marmoush stole the headlines, scoring twice before Tijjani Reijnders added a third in a dominant first half.

The holders pulled one back through Anthony Elanga just after the hour mark, but it was too little too late with a different name on the trophy this season now a guarantee.

As it happened

The breakthrough came in just the 7th minute, as Marmoush’s persistence saw him burst into the box, and a desperate sliding challenge from Dan Burn sent the ball ricocheting off the Egyptian and looping over the head of Aaron Ramsdale.

By the half-hour mark, he had doubled his tally and killed the tie. After Kieran Trippier, who remained a tireless outlet for Newcastle failed to clear a looping ball, left it to Marmoush to nod home from point blank range.

With five goals in his last two home games against the Magpies, Marmoush is becoming the antagonist of Eddie Howe, all the while raising serious questions surrounding the idea of his more permanent spot in the starting eleven.

A masterful performance from Reijnders was exemplified in the 32nd minute, where he finished a lightning fast counter-attack with a composed side-footed shot past Ramsdale that put the game to bed before the break.

The scoreline arguably flattered City in the first half, and that was due to the heroics of summer signing James Trafford.

Newcastle could have silenced the Etihad on multiple occasions with the likes of Joe Willock and Anthony Gordon finding themselves one-on-one with the young keeper, but Trafford kept both attempts out.

Then, from bad to worse, just before the interval Gordon hobbled off with a hamstring injury, leaving the Newcastle attacking plan in tatters.

The second half did see Newcastle take advantage of the home side taking their foot off the gas.

On 62 minutes, winger Anthony Elanga collected the ball on the right from Malick Thiaw, showing great pace and feet to skip inside onto his left foot and curled a low, precise effort into the far corner via the post.

With an xG of just 0.06, it was a goal of pure individual quality, and a rare bright light in the game for the visitors.

Despite late pressure from Newcastle and a disallowed goal for Harvey Barnes, City’s progression was never truly in doubt.

City now turn their attention to a Premier League clash with Liverpool before heading to Wembley on March 22nd.

For Newcastle, the dream of retaining their trophy is over, leaving Eddie Howe to face mounting questions about his side’s consistency during a testing campaign.