Newcastle United never stood a chance as they were humbled by Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium.
It’s a game that Eddie Howe will want to forget in a hurry. His Newcastle United side was second best to everything and failed to contain Omar Marmoush as he scored a devastating hat-trick in the first half.
Newcastle captain Bruno Guimaraes wasn’t his usual self on Saturday. The Brazilian failed to stamp his authority on the game and was booked before being taken off in the 72nd minute.
Before the game, Man City boss Pep Guardiola called Guimaraes a ‘threat’ but his midfielders had no issue containing him throughout the game.
Alan Shearer blasted Newcastle for their performance, branding it as ‘pathetic’. The loss moves the Magpies down to seventh in the Premier League table in a week that could have moved them up to fourth with a win.
Elsewhere, Newcastle fans berated Kieran Trippier for his efforts in the defeat. The 34-year-old was taken off at half time for Tino Livramento after being at fault for Man City’s first goal.
With the dust settling on an eye-opening defeat, Guimaraes’ frustrations were evident when he was substituted.
Omar Marmoush of Manchester City is challenged by Bruno Guimaraes of Newcastle United during the Premier League match between Manchester City FC an…
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Bruno Guimaraes anger in Newcastle United defeat
Newcastle’s loss to Man City was another sign that qualifying for the Champions League is still an incredibly tough task. If there are more performances like that towards the end of the season there is a chance Newcastle will not qualify for Europe at all.
Guimaraes was not his usual self by any means and his disappointment in his performance was clear to see when he was substituted. Per the Chronicle, Guimaraes was spotted taking out his chewing gum and throwing it to the ground as he walked towards the touchline.
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The game was all but over in the first half after Marmoush’s hat-trick, but the real misery compiler came when Newcastle transfer target James McAtee netted Man City’s fourth of the afternoon late on to completely kill the game off.
Newcastle were not at the races today and the team cohesion was evidence of that. At one point, Trippier shouted at Fabian Schar for failing to close down his man ahead of Man City’s second goal.
Howe is now left to pick up the pieces in what is Newcastle’s heaviest defeat of the season.
What Eddie Howe said about Newcastle’s loss to Manchester City
The defeat leaves Howe in a position where he needs to reassess what went wrong and how he can reshape his squad to ensure Newcastle can immediately bounce back with a win against Nottingham Forest.
Speaking to BBC Match of the Day, Howe was asked exactly what went wrong for his side.
“It was a tough day at the office – they played well, we didn’t,” he said.
The goals were poor moments, we will have to analyse them and work out what we could do better.
“From the off we were lacking in duels, the physical side. Man City are so good in the build-up, to disrupt that you have to be exceptional physically and we weren’t.
“We can’t look for excuses, there are a load of reasons we could look at, but the players should have been fresh and ready to perform, they didn’t.
“We’ve got some tough games, the fixture list will test us. We have to dust ourselves off for next week.”
A worry now is that Newcastle have hit a poor vein of form just a few weeks out from the Carabao Cup final against Liverpool. Fans are desperate to win a trophy and will be keen to avoid a repeat of the emotional loss to Manchester United at Wembley Stadium in 2023.
