Newcastle 0-2 Man City

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Newcastle found the home leg of the League Cup semi final a game too far on Tuesday night.

Despite a positive performance, an absolutely knackered Newcastle struggled to get the ball off Man City, and after Wissa missed an early chance, our opponents largely took the sting out of the game.

When they scored early in the second half (Semenyo, who would have been cup tied last season before a rule change) the tie became an uphill task.

A ridiculous five minute VAR check saw a second City goal ruled out for a marginal (but factually correct) offside against Haaland which roused us somewhat, but the killer blow came from a Cherki goal in the 98th minute.

Eddie Howe's tenure has been a series of broken curses, but surely going to the Etihad and overturning a two goal deficit is a miracle too far.

There's no shame in this cup run, a spirited defence of our trophy, and of course Eddie will be going to the Etihad hoping to get an early goal and see what happens, but the reality is this team has just played too much football.

Some bolstering in the transfer window, especially in the full back positions, is starting to look essential.