A mentor and his protégé clash again. Manchester City and Arsenal will face off for the championship trophy.
On the 5th (KST), Manchester City defeated Newcastle United 3-1 in the second leg of the 2025-2026 Carabao Cup (EFL Cup) semifinal at Etihad Stadium in Manchester, England.
With this, Man City advanced to the final, eliminating Newcastle with a 5-1 aggregate score over the two legs. Their opponent is rival Arsenal, who had already secured a place in the final by beating Chelsea. Pep Guardiola, Manchester City manager, and Mikel Arteta, Arsenal manager, who are also competing for the Premier League title, will meet once again.
Man City started in a 4-1-4-1 formation. Omar Marmoush, Rayan Ait-Nouri-Tijsien Reijnders-Fil Foden-Antoine Semenyo, Nico Gonzalez, Nico O'Riley-Nathan Ake-Abdukodir Husanov-Matheus Nunes, James Trafford started in the lineup.
Newcastle lined up in a 3-4-1-2 formation. Nick Boltemade-Anthony Gordon, Joe Willock, Lewis Hall-Sandro Tonali-Jacob Ramsey-Kieran Trippier, Dan Burn-Sven Botman-Malik Chiau, Aaron Ramsdale made up the starting XI.
Man City opened the scoring early. In the 7th minute of the first half, Marmoush made a 2-on-1 pass with Reijnders and penetrated into the space behind the defense. He kept his momentum and broke through, and the ball deflected off Marmoush after a Newcastle tackle and went into the net.
Man City went two goals ahead. In the 29th minute of the first half on a counterattack, Semenyo crossed from the left side of the box toward goal. Trippier failed to clear it properly, and Marmoush headed it in to score his second goal.
The outcome was decided early. In the 32nd minute of the first half, Reijnders' goal effectively sealed City's place in the final. On another counter, Semenyo calmly beat a defender, and the surging Reijnders finished lightly to make it 3-0. It was the moment the aggregate became 5-0.
Adding to Newcastle's woes, Gordon went down injured late in the first half. He left the field with a suspected hamstring injury, and Harvey Barnes was brought on as his replacement.
There was no comeback in the second half either. At the start of the second half, Newcastle gave rest to Hall, Willock and Boltemade and brought on Jacob Murphy, Anthony Elanga and Joao Wissa. Man City withdrew Ake and brought on 2005-born defender Max Aline.
Newcastle pulled one back. In the 17th minute of the second half, Elanga made a quick individual run down the right flank and entered the box. Facing the opposite goal, he curled a left-footed shot into the net.
Newcastle's hopes were dashed. In the 23rd minute of the second half, Wissa broke behind the defense and played the ball to Barnes, who struck a precise shot into the net. But the goal was disallowed for offside on Wissa's run. The match ended as a Man City victory.
Now Man City and Arsenal will contest a single match for another trophy. The match between the two teams will be played on Mar. 23. With Arsenal (53 points) and Man City (47 points) sitting first and second respectively in the Premier League, the team that wins here could aim for the double.
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