Man. City close in on Carabao Final after Newcastle win

By Kazeem Ugbodaga

Manchester City took a decisive step toward the Carabao Cup final with a commanding 2–0 victory over Newcastle United in the first leg of their semi-final on Tuesday night.

City delivered a composed and clinical performance, striking twice in the second half to leave Newcastle facing an uphill task ahead of the return leg.

The result gives Pep Guardiola’s side a strong platform as they seek another domestic final appearance.

After a tightly contested first half that ended goalless, City broke the deadlock eight minutes after the restart. Antoine Semenyo found space inside the penalty area, latched onto a precise pass from Bernardo Silva, and calmly fired low past Nick Pope to put the visitors ahead.

Newcastle attempted to respond, with Bruno Guimarães hitting the post and forcing goalkeeper James Trafford into a fine save, but City’s control in midfield gradually blunted the hosts’ momentum.

The visitors doubled their advantage late on when sustained pressure paid off. Following a corner routine, City kept Newcastle pinned deep, and Rayan Cherki capitalised in stoppage time, finishing confidently from close range after being picked out inside the box to make it 2–0.

Guardiola rotated his squad intelligently during the contest, introducing key players such as Rodri and Tijjani Reijnders to maintain tempo and defensive stability as City closed out the match.

For Newcastle, the defeat was compounded by disciplinary issues and missed opportunities, leaving Eddie Howe’s side needing a near-perfect performance in the second leg to overturn the deficit.