Key stats
- Only Erling Haaland (26) and Igor Thiago (17) have scored more goals among Premier League players in all competitions this season since the Club World Cup than Antoine Semenyo (12).
- Only against Fulham (seven) does Antoine Semenyo have more goal involvements against a side in his club career than Newcastle United (four - two goals, two assists).
- Manchester City have kept a clean sheet in three of their four games, more than any other team in the League Cup.
Highlights
Match report
Newcastle’s record in this competition under Eddie Howe is a formidable one, and the reigning champions flexed their muscles inside the opening five minutes.
A sweeping move ended with Jacob Murphy finding the unmarked Yoane Wissa inside the area, but his wayward effort drifted harmlessly over the bar when he ought to have at least hit the target. Besides that early attempt, though, the first half was largely a non-event, with more yellow cards than shots at goal.
While the opening period was lacking in goalmouth excitement, the second was certainly far more entertaining in its infancy.
Newcastle once again started on the front foot as Wissa’s looping header needed scooping off the line by James Trafford, just moments before Bruno Guimarães cannoned an effort against the post.
Nevertheless, Howe’s men were taught a harsh lesson of how crucial it is to take chances when they come against City, whose first shot on target of the encounter saw them take the lead.
Jérémy Doku did the legwork down the left, and his delivery was helped on its way inside the area by Bernardo Silva, allowing new signing Antoine Semenyo to turn home his second goal in as many games at the far post.
He thought he’d doubled his and his team’s tally on the night just moments later when he flicked Tijjani Reijnders’ corner into the back of the net, but after a lengthy VAR check lasting almost five minutes, Haaland was adjudged to have been in an offside position when Semenyo turned home.
A raft of substitutes saw the game stagnate somewhat as the game approached its climax, which suited City, and they were even able to add a second goal in stoppage time through Rayan Cherki to ensure they took a two-goal advantage back to the Etihad Stadium for the second leg.
Ultimately, Newcastle offered precious little in an attacking sense after falling behind, with a Sandro Tonali snapshot that flashed wide of the post as close as they went to finding a route back into the game, leaving them with plenty of work to do in February’s return leg.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Antoine Semenyo (Manchester City)
Post-match comments
City's new signing Antoine Semenyo is loving life in Manchester so far.
"The whole environment here is perfect," he told Sky Sports. "Everyone is confident and wanting achieve the best.
"I have come into that and they helped with my confidence and made me feel welcome. It's been a lot but I have enjoyed it so far. I am picking things up very quickly and enjoying it.
"I am just taking the confidence I had from Bournemouth here and playing with a smile on my face. I am enjoying every moment."
Manchester City's Bernardo Silva is equally happy to have Semenyo on his team.
"He looks not just a very good player but also a very good guy which fits right in with the team," he told ITV Sport.
"He is a fantastic guy who wants to help us. Hopefully he can keep going."
Pep Guardiola, meanwhile, paid tribute to Semenyo's previous club for developing his skills.
"We know Bournemouth did an incredible job with him and every time the ball arrives to him he always is there," Guardiola told Sky Sports.
On Semenyo's relationship with Erling Haaland, Pep said: "They were not completely connected. They were not ready to get that ball. Second half they were ready."
Meanwhile, Newcastle boss Eddie Howe says his team is still in contention despite being two goals down in the tie.
"It's a body blow but not fatal at the moment," he said to Sky Sports about the late second goal. "We're still in there fighting.
"I think maybe a bit of naivety with a minute to go on the clock, that we're still trying to chase a goal.
"In that moment, we needed to defend after we got our structure wrong from that position, and we got punished.
"I think the lads gave everything today under difficult circumstances after the extra time on Saturday, and there was a bit of fatigue in our performance, but I can't fault the players."