Newcastle United suffered a 2-0 defeat to Manchester City in the first leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final.
After needing 120 minutes and penalties to edge past AFC Bournemouth in the FA Cup third round on Saturday, Eddie Howe made seven changes to his starting XI.
Only Sven Botman, Malick Thiaw, Jacob Ramsey and Yoane Wissa kept their places as Nick Pope, Lewis Miley, Lewis Hall, Bruno Guimaraes, Joelinton, Anthony Gordon and Jacob Murphy came in Aaron Ramsdale, Kieran Trippier, Tino Livramento, Sandro Tonali, Joe Willock, Harvey Barnes and Nick Woltemade.
Man City broke the deadlock in the 53rd minute when Jeremy Doku’s cross was flicked forward by Bernardo Silva and finished off by Antoine Semenyo. It came moments after the Magpies were twice denied by the woodwork as James Trafford tipped Yoane Wissa’s header onto the crossbar before Bruno Guimaraes hit the post.
Semenyo thought he had doubled Man City’s lead on the hour-mark but after a lengthy VAR check, Erling Haaland was penalised for being offside in the build-up. But the visitors did get a second and it came in stoppage time when Rayan Cherki fired his shot low past Nick Pope.
It leaves Newcastle with a mountain to climb heading into the second-leg at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday, February 4.
Here are our Newcastle United player ratings:
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1. Nick Pope - 7
Reacted well to stop Anthony Gordon from scoring an own goal but conceded moments later to Antoine Semenyo. Made a couple of important stops but couldn’t prevent City adding a second. | AFP via Getty Images
2. Lewis Miley - 6
Had a tough task up against the pace and trickery of Jeremy Doku but came to terms with it after a tough start. Not as composed on the ball as he has been in recent games. | AFP via Getty Images
3. Malick Thiaw - 7
Made some good interceptions and battled well with Erling Haaland. | AFP via Getty Images
4. Sven Botman - 7
Played 120 minutes on his first start in two months on Saturday and looked better for it tonight. Strong and robust but understandably tired towards the end. | AFP via Getty Images