Manchester City secured a 2-0 victory over Newcastle United in the first leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final, with Antoine Semenyo and Rayan Cherki scoring at St James’ Park. The match was overshadowed by a lengthy VAR review that disallowed a second goal from Semenyo for a marginal offside.
Eddie Howe’s worst fears were realised when Semenyo, who had played for Bournemouth earlier in the competition, opened the scoring in the second half. The winger capitalised on a hesitation from Harvey Barnes, with Jeremy Doku crossing to Bernardo Silva, who set up Semenyo to score his second goal in two games for City.
Semenyo thought he had doubled the lead with a backheel from a corner, but a VAR review lasting over five minutes ruled out the goal due to Erling Haaland being offside in the build-up. Pep Guardiola was visibly frustrated by the delay, which he deemed unfair on players and spectators.
Newcastle had earlier missed a golden opportunity when Yoane Wissa shot over the bar from close range. James Trafford made several key saves, including a fine stop from Wissa’s header, and Bruno Guimaraes hit the post. The holders had started brightly, buoyed by news of a planned £200m training ground, but struggled to break down City’s defence.
The second leg takes place at the Etihad Stadium in February, leaving Newcastle with a tough task to defend the trophy they won last March.
