Manchester City eliminate Newcastle and set up Arsenal final

Manchester City booked their place in the final of the English Football League Cup after renewing their superiority over Newcastle United with a 3–1 victory in the second leg of the semi-final, played at the Etihad Stadium.

With this result, the Sky Blues sealed qualification with a 5–1 aggregate score, confirming their clear dominance and deserved progression to the final of the competition.

Egyptian star Omar Marmoush was the standout performer in this encounter, delivering an impressive display and scoring twice, while Dutch midfielder Tijjani Reijnders added the third goal, completing a show of total control by the hosts—especially in the first half, which saw a complete performance across all areas of the pitch.

Key match events

Manchester City entered the match with a clear mindset focused on early resolution, applying intense pressure on Newcastle’s defense from the opening minutes, as the visitors appeared affected by their 2–0 defeat in the first leg. The “Citizens” did not wait long to open the scoring, as Marmoush found the net after just six minutes with a shot that deflected off defender Dan Burn, deceiving the goalkeeper and giving the hosts the lead.

The early goal increased Newcastle’s disarray and gave City a significant morale boost to continue their attacking onslaught. Marmoush continued his brilliance by adding the second goal, rising to meet a precise cross from Ghanaian Antoine Semenyo with a powerful header. With this strike, the Egyptian forward raised his goal tally with Manchester City to 12 goals, five of which have come against Newcastle at the Etihad Stadium, turning him into a nightmare for the “Magpies”.

Manchester City were not satisfied with this advantage and maintained their dominance, eventually scoring a third goal before half-time. Semenyo provided another assist, this time setting up Reijnders, who finished confidently to underline his team’s overwhelming superiority.

In the second half, Newcastle attempted to improve their image and search for a goal to reduce the deficit, prompting their manager to make several attacking substitutions. Swedish substitute Anthony Elanga managed to score Newcastle’s only goal after around an hour of play, producing an excellent individual effort in which he beat more than one defender before curling a superb shot past goalkeeper James Trafford. Elanga nearly added a second goal, but missed two chances, one of them from very close range.

At the other end, Manchester City wasted several opportunities to increase the scoreline, most notably a strike from Norwegian goal machine Erling Haaland that struck the post.

After the match, Marmoush expressed his great happiness at reaching the final, praising the team’s spirit and tactical discipline, and stressing that Manchester City’s constant objective is to win trophies and compete strongly on all fronts. He added that reaching the final is the result of the hard work the players put in daily during training and matches.

With this victory, Manchester City set up a blockbuster clash with Arsenal in the final, which will be held at the iconic Wembley Stadium on March 22, in a special encounter between Pep Guardiola and his former assistant Mikel Arteta, now Arsenal’s head coach.

In the highly anticipated final, City will look to extend their record in the competition, having won it eight times—four of them consecutively between 2018 and 2021—while Arsenal will aim to end a 33-year wait for the trophy and convert their impressive performances this season into a first title, setting the stage for an exciting and wide-open final.