‘It was good debut for him’ - Eddie Howe praises £40m man after Carabao Cup triumph

Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe has singled out praise for one of his team’s star performers after their shock 1-0 victory over eight-time Carabao Cup winners Manchester City.

The Magpies made a total of 10 changes to the team that played during the 8-0 win over Sheffield United and three players were included in the starting lineup for the first time.

Newcastle began the game in shaky circumstances and struggled to maintain position in the first half against a heavily rotated Man City team, but they emerged from the break with a fresh sense of urgency and exuberance which helped them secure their place in the round of 16.

Howe reflected positively on his team’s excellent result as they kept a fourth consecutive clean sheet in all competitions, but one debutant was given special praise from the manager in his post match interview and that was £40m summer signing Tino Livramento.

The 20-year-old made his first start in black and white since arriving from Southampton and did an excellent job to contain England international Jack Grealish and Belgian youngster Jeremy Doku.

The ex-Chelsea man made a total of eight tackles in the game including a crucial intervention to deny Julian Alvarez when he was through on goal.

Livramento also offered his side energy in attack and made a number of excellent overlapping runs to support wide attacker Jacob Murphy.

His contributions earned him the man of the match award on the night and special credit from his manager.

Howe said: "I thought he did really well. It was a tough game against Jack Grealish who is an unbelievable player but Tino defended really well against him one-v-one a lot of the time. He was really aggressive and frontfoot but dealt with him really well.

“The main strength of his game historically is his attacking intent and ability to run with the ball. We saw flashes of that in the second half but it was a really good debut for him.

“He’s been very good. I don’t think you’re able to come in and give that performance if you’re not training well and applying yourself to your work. He’s been superb. I think he’s understood his position. He’s come back from a long injury as well so you have to take that into account in this period when he’s learning how the team plays and the players he’s playing with. When you get your chance you’ve got to take it and he’s done that today.”

Newcastle United have ambitions of going all the way in the Carabao Cup after last year’s set back in the final, but their path to glory does not get any easier in the round of 16 and they have been paired with the holders Man Utd in a direct repeat of the 2023 final.

Livramento will be hoping to earn further opportunities in the weeks to come as Newcastle host both Burnley and PSG in their next two fixtures.