Match Report & Player Ratings: Newcastle United 1-3 Manchester City (FA Cup Fifth Round) | OneFootball

Manchester City overcame an early storm at St. James’ Park on Saturday night to secure a composed 3-1 victory over Newcastle United and progress to the FA Cup quarter-final.

Omar Marmoush dazzled with a clinical brace while Savinho’s first-half equaliser cancelled out Harvey Barnes’ opener in a fiercely contested tie.

Despite fielding a heavily rotated side ahead of their upcoming UEFA Champions League clash with Real Madrid, Pep Guardiola’s team gradually imposed their control after a turbulent opening period and ultimately left Tyneside with a deserved victory.

Coming into this FA Cup tie, Pep Guardiola made 10 changes – with Matheus Nunes being the sole starter from the playing XI that took on Nottingham Forest. Abdukodir Khusanov, John Stones and Nathan Ake started in the backline alongside Nunes; while Nico Gonzalez, Nico O’Reilly and Tijjani Reijnders started in the midfield.

In attack, Erling Haaland was not part of the squad, with Pep Guardiola confirming the Norwegian striker was rested, with the focus on him training well, ahead of the clash with Real Madrid on Wednesday. In his absence, Omar Marmoush spearheaded the attack, with Jeremy Doku and Savinho playing on the left and right wings, respectively.

Established starters such as Gianluigi Donnarumma, Ruben Dias, Marc Guehi, Rayan Ait-Nouri, Rodri, Bernardo Silva, Rayan Cherki, Antoine Semenyo and Phil Foden were named on the bench.

Newcastle began with intensity, winning their first corner of the game within a couple of minutes. Anthony Elanga, after cutting inside from the right flank, had the first shot on target of the night, aimed at the bottom right corner, which was well-gathered by Trafford. The hosts put Manchester City under pressure, resulting in breathless action.

First, William Osula nearly managed to get the better of Stones and Khusanov arrived just in time to thwart Harvey Barnes from shooting at goal from close range. In the resulting corner, Trafford spilt a header from Osula. Nick Woltemade headed the ball over a stranded Trafford – and it was cleared off the line by a backtracking Gonzalez.

Newcastle really managed to unsettle City’s defence in the first 15 minutes. The Magpies broke the deadlock in the 18th minute. Sandro Tonali’s pass down the left channel was chased down by Barnes before he opened up his body and curled the ball across Trafford into the net. He was played on by Khusanov in the middle as Newcastle took a deserved lead.

Manchester City continued to dominate possession but were unable to create threatening chances to trouble Aaron Ramsdale. In the meantime, Newcastle had already made eight attempts at City’s goal by the 27th minute, with three of them being on target.

Savinho had City’s first attempt on target at the half-hour mark, shooting from a tight angle inside the six-yard box. Ramsdale parried his low drive away for a corner. Doku and Reijnders swiftly combined on the left, with Doku slipping a ball down the left channel.

The Dutch international tried to poke the ball goalwards but his effort was powerless and easily gathered by Ramsdale. Manchester City continued to dominate possession after the half-hour mark and were finally rewarded for their persistence. Doku dribbled past Trippier and fired a low, teasing delivery through the six-yard box.

Savinho stood rooted to his spot and allowed the ball to just hit him and it went over the line. Manchester City equalised and it was all square once again on the night. The Brazilian seemed to have found his mojo back, effortlessly gliding past Hall as his cutback found Reijnders via a deflection, who sent his low drilled shot inches wide of the left-hand post.

Newcastle looked shell shocked at this City onslaught and it was apparent in the way Marmoush stripped Ramsdale of possession just minutes later and found O’Reilly, who paused and was thwarted from shooting directly at the unguarded goal. That was a massive chance missed by Manchester City to make it 2-1 on the night.

At half-time, the teams were level but it had been a highly entertaining game. Barnes gave the hosts the lead but City roared back with Savinho equalising after an excellent bit of trickery by Doku on the left.

Manchester City took the lead in the 47th minute as Savinho and Nunes combined before the latter crossed low with the ball via deflection to Marmoush, who made no mistake in smashing the ball into the net from close range. City led 2-1.

Newcastle responded with Woltemade shooting from distance after O’Reilly gave away the ball cheaply but it was an easy save for Trafford. Pep Guardiola was booked for his reaction after Doku was brought down by a tug from Botman. Ramsdale made two good saves to deny City from taking a 3-1 lead.

First, he parried away a powerful effort from Marmoush after Woltemade was dispossessed at the edge of the box. From the resulting corner, he turned away O’Reilly’s header for another corner. Eddie Howe made a triple substitution, with Elanga, Trippier and Osula replaced by Dan Burn, Yohan Wissa and Joelinton.

John Stones cut through Newcastle’s lines with a sensational pass for Savinho; however, the Brazilian international tried to be selfless and find Marmoush where he should have shot. However, Manchester City did not have to wait for long to increase their lead. It was a brilliant goal from Omar Marmoush to give Manchester City a deserving 3-1 lead.

Matheus Nunes had drifted inside before carrying the ball forward and finding Marmoush at the edge of the box, who dispatched a thunderous strike into the top left corner of the net. City led 3-1 on the night. City could have made it 4-1 when Doku again penetrated the opposition box at ease before trying to find Savinho – but Newcastle defenders cleared away the pass.

Eddie Howe made one final throw of the dice, introducing Anthony Gordon for Woltemade. Pep Guardiola sent Antoine Semenyo on for Omar Marmoush, who had once again dismantled Newcastle with a sensational display.

Guardiola made two further substitutions with Foden and Cherki replacing Doku and Savinho respectively, both being crucial to City’s performance in front of a hostile away crowd at St. James’ Park.

The Blues maintained control through possession and defensive discipline in the closing stages, securing a well-deserved victory after weathering Newcastle’s early pressure and capitalising on their attacking opportunities in the second half.

Here’s how we rated the Manchester City players from a resilient comeback victory at St James’ Park to reach the FA Cup quarter-final:

Starting XI

James Trafford – 6

Trafford looked shaky in the beginning with a few missed passes and was massively helped out by Nico Gonzalez after he had slipped a routine header from Osula. His performance improved as the game progressed.

Matheus Nunes – 7.5

Steady presence though, he should have been better positioned to prevent Barnes from running so easily at the City penalty box for Newcastle’s goal. Couple of good crosses in the first half from the Portugal international as well. Provided a crucial cross that led to Marmoush’s goal. He followed it up with another crucial assist for the Egyptian.

Abdukodir Khusanov – 7

The Uzbek made a crucial challenge to stop Harvey Barnes from prodding his shot towards the goal – and he also managed to prevent Osula from scoring. He made three recoveries in the first half and two important clearances, continuing to defend with energy in the second-half.

John Stones – 6.5

Stones’ lack of game-time and match sharpness was apparent in the beginning as he was nowhere near to prevent Barnes from curling in his strike past Trafford. However, as City started to dominate possession, his composure on the ball was a crucial reason that the visitors managed to pin Newcastle back and overload the central regions as well.

Nathan Ake – 5.5

Ake had a tough time dealing with Anthony Elanga on the left side of City’s defence in the beginning. He gradually got more accustomed to the tempo as the game went on.

Nico Gonzalez – 6.5

He won two out of three ground duels in the first-half and made a crucial goal-line clearance. His ball progression helped City to slowly exert their dominance on the game.

Nico O’Reilly – 5.5

O’Reilly was not at his best following his return from a knock. He was decent in possession and tried to find players in advanced positions quickly with his forward passing.

Tijjani Reijnders – 6.5

Reijnders often found himself to be the most advanced player on the pitch, with him attempting six shots in the first-half, two of which were on target. He should have done better with at least two of his efforts and could have easily given City the lead going into the interval.

Jeremy Doku – 7

Doku created two big chances in the first-half and provided three key passes before half-time. He did not seem heavily involved at first but grew into the game and gradually started helping Ake cope with the dual threat of Trippier and Elanga.

Savinho – 7

Savinho’s goal was perhaps fortunate but the winger gradually grew into the game as the first-half progressed. Two out of his three shots were on target in the opening 45 minutes and he could have easily bagged an assist if Reijnders had not shot wide from close range.

His six progressive carries in the first 45 minutes highlighted a player slowly gaining confidence in his abilities.

Omar Marmoush – 8 (POTM)

Marmoush was not heavily involved in the first-half apart from one chance that did not go City’s way. However, he made no mistake in scoring from close range in the beginning of the second-half.

He dispatched a powerful shot but it was too close to Ramsdale to trouble him significantly. He made no mistake when Nunes found him at the edge of the box and unleashed a sensational strike to make it 3-1 for City.

Substitutes

Antoine Semenyo – 6

He replaced Marmoush in the 73rd minute. He helped the team to maintain the tempo of the game.

Phil Foden – 6

In the 79th minute, he replaced Doku. He helped to see the game out.

Rayan Cherki – 6

In the 79th minute, he replaced Savinho. Tidy in possession.