Newcastle United now have time to focus on the Champions League after Manchester City have qualified for the Mickey Mouse final.
Eddie Howe is a relieved man as he can now focus all his energy on Europe’s premier competition.
While Pep Guardiola left with the unwanted burden of this Mickey Mouse Cup final on top of all their other commitments.
The Manchester City fans showed their disdain for the competition, with around half of the home seats empty and Man City not even bothering to open up large areas of the pitch.
A 3-1 win on the night for the home side, 5-1 on aggregate for Manchester City.
The real winner, however, was Eddie Howe and Newcastle United, who after ticking off this trophy last season can now leave it to Arsenal and Manchester City to waste unnecessary energy on this Mickey Mouse cup.
It was way back in 2021 when Manchester City last won the League Cup, and it’s been a humiliating 33 years since Arsenal last won it, so perhaps no wonder Pep Guardiola and Mikel Arteta tried so desperately to win this Mickey Mouse silverware…
(PS: I can now cancel the Wembley hotel room I booked for the Carabao Cup last weekend and get my money back…)
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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