Newcastle United’s EFL Cup defence ended with a heavy 5-1 aggregate defeat to Manchester City in the semi-finals, leaving Eddie Howe pointing to missed chances and an early collapse at the Etihad Stadium that, in Howe’s view, did not match how competitive the tie actually felt.
City, who led 2-0 from the first leg, struck three times inside 32 minutes of the return game. Omar Marmoush scored twice and Tijjani Reijnders also found the net, before Newcastle United responded through substitute Anthony Elanga, while Yoane Wissa passed up two clear openings that might have tightened the score.
Across both legs, Manchester City generated 4.14 expected goals compared with Newcastle United’s 2.21. Howe felt the final margin exaggerated the difference
between the sides, especially given Newcastle’s attacking intent in both matches and the number of situations where Newcastle United threatened but failed to convert.
Howe highlighted the opening goal in Manchester as a turning point, describing how an attempted clearance from Dan Burn instead struck a City attacker and went in. "It was exactly the start we didn't want. With the first goal, Dan [Burn] has gone to clear the ball and it's gone off their attacker and gone in," Howe told Sky Sports. "That sums up the start to the game that we had. It was the opposite of what we wanted, and it took the game away from us. "
Newcastle United’s exit also carried historical weight. Newcastle United had progressed from all three of the club’s previous EFL Cup semi-finals, yet this time the holders departed at that stage, joining Tottenham in 1971-72 and Blackburn Rovers in 2002-03 as defending champions eliminated in the last four.
12 - Newcastle United have now lost each of their last 12 away games against Manchester City in all competitions, their outright longest run away to a single opponent in their history. Cursed. pic.twitter.com/AgiAScEe9SOptaJoe (@OptaJoe) February 4, 2026
The defeat also extended a long-standing away problem for Newcastle United at Manchester City. Newcastle United have now lost 12 consecutive away fixtures against Manchester City in all competitions, which is Newcastle United’s longest losing streak on the road against any single opponent.
Reflecting on both legs, Howe underlined frustration with Newcastle United’s finishing. Howe said, "In both games, if you look back, we are frustrated that we only scored one goal in two games. We don't feel we should have lost the first leg 2-0 on the balance of opportunities created. It could have been different, but we accept the reality. The last thing you want to do is have to chase a game. We were going for the match; we were trying to attack. "
With the tie effectively settled by half-time in the second leg, Howe removed Nick Woltemade, Lewis Hall and Joe Willock at the break, while Anthony Gordon went off shortly before the interval with a hamstring problem. Howe later said about Gordon, "It looks like a hamstring injury, I don't think it looks too bad," offering some encouragement despite a difficult end to Newcastle United’s EFL Cup campaign against Manchester City.
