Manchester City 3 Newcastle 1 – Wednesday 4 February 2026 8:00 PM
Direct fan/writer response from some of our regular contributors to The Mag.
Nat Seaton:
‘Conceding the first goal was always going to be the killer… and that’s how it happened, and so early!
Another Etihad defeat, I’ve seen too many lately, but at least we have the positive of Elanga finally getting his first goal (not the ‘miss’ after!).
A big game at home on Saturday would be a huge three points and a boost ahead of all the away games.”
Billy Miller:
‘On a night where we needed a lot of quality and a bit of luck, we had little of the former and none of the latter.
Although we didn’t create any decent chances, everything seemed to be going well for Man City in the first half.
I feared a blow and at least we kept it respectable and technically ‘won’ the second half.
Our focus is on the competition and a desperate need to turn these nuggets of positivity into real results.”
Jamie Smith:
‘I’m not sure what all the half-time bed-wetting was about in a tie lost at St James’ Park three weeks ago.
The plan to catch them had to be tried, although the defense was poor when Man City broke against it.
That said, they benefited from 2 extremely fortunate goals, while our chances were denied by Willock, Gordon, Wissa, Elanga etc.
Second half much better, albeit helped by Man City undoubtedly putting their foot down.
Elanga’s beautiful goal will hopefully be the boost he needs.
Chance of a small course correction against Brentford in the league as we unfortunately bow out of our cup.”
GTone:
‘Their goalkeeper was an even-distance man. He made countless saves to stop us, while at the other end the ball bounced off them and went in.
We have absolutely no luck against certain teams. Handballs are ignored, fouls are waved away, etc. etc.
Some players did well and we at least seemed to be trying.
Yet that is what 115 charges and PSR get you.’
Matt Busby said…:
“Sadness will be my overriding emotion as the final whistle blows tonight.
We made a good fist of defending the trophy we won 11 months ago, but fell more than two legs short, against a football club that embodies everything that is wrong with the game we love.
I don’t care that Man City won all the honors the game has to offer, the lack of passion from their fans and the sheer number of empty seats was baffling. It was a semi-final for God’s sake!’
David Punton:
‘A humiliating evening as our grip on the League Cup slipped away.
We were so bad in that first half it was mouth watering.
In all his years in charge, Eddie Howe has overseen some of our worst games this season. There were shades of Alan Pardew/Steve Bruce in it.
The way we let them race to a 3-0 lead was embarrassing. We gave them all these goals as a gift.
The gap between the two clubs seemed wider than a mile.
As holders it is always difficult to follow up on success, and I must say we really miss Isak.
This is a difficult time at the moment, both for the manager and the players.”
Simon Ritter:
“No wonder at Emptyhad Stadium, but at least we won the second half of the second half of this tie.
More relevant is conceding seven goals between the 41st minute at Anfield and the 32nd minute tonight.
We missed Schar and Livramento in defence, going to a 5-3-2 or a 3-5-2, but Man City found enough space to cut through us, just like Liverpool did.
One explanation is that without Guimaraes in midfield and with Tonali playing his 41st game of the season, our midfield is stretched beyond breaking point.
Yet we still created enough opportunities tonight to put a lot of pressure on our opponent.
If we had taken even half of it, the miracle would have been possible.”
Tony Mallabar:
‘Extremely disappointed. Not with the result, because Man City had the deserved winners. But a missed opportunity to go one step further after Saturday’s luckypool defeat.
Many here will have a more articulate opinion. But tonight I’m going to buck the trend here about all the empty seats.
Going to football is no longer cheap or accessible for your normal Joe/Anna.
So if we are successful, hopefully we will show a lot more humility towards our fellow working-class fans.”
The armchair fan:
‘Champions, finalists, semi-finalists and quarter-finalists isn’t a bad record in the League Cup over the last four seasons.
We lost the tie by four goals, but tonight we missed golden chances from Willock, Gordon, Wissa and Elanga, had two VAR checks for a penalty and had a goal disallowed.
If you also take into account Wissa’s two chances in the first leg and Bruno’s goal on the post, things could have turned out very differently.
Beat Villa in the FA Cup and Qarabag in the Champions League and we can all start dreaming of another trophy for NUFC.”
Manchester City 3 Newcastle 1 – Wednesday 4 February 2026 8:00 PM
Match statistics
Goals:
Newcastle United:
The garden
Man’s City:
Marmoush 7, 29 Reijnders 32
Possess was Newcastle 37% Manchester City 63%
Total shots were Newcastle 12 Man City 18
Shots on target were Newcastle 5 Man City 8
Corners were Newcastle 4 Man City 5
Touches in the opposition box Newcastle 14 Man City 34
Newcastle team vs Man City:
Ramsdale, Trippier (Osula 76), Thiaw, Botman, Burn, Hall (Jacob Murphy 46), Tonali, Ramsey, Willock (Elanga 46), Gordon (Barnes 44), Woltemade (Wissa 46)
subtitles:
Pope, Alex Murphy, Neave, Shahar
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