Carabao Cup: Man Utd 0-3 Newcastle — Match Report: Magpie reserves breeze into quarter-finals

Eddie Howe made eight changes ahead of what looked to be a tough test at Old Trafford. Emil Krafth, Martin Dubravka, Paul Dummett, Lewis Hall, Tino Livramento, Matt Targett, Joe Willock, and Matt Ritchie all started for Newcastle.

Fans were scratching their heads, wondering where those and other players would play as the majority of the side was made up of natural full-backs.

Newcastle were dealt an early blow as Targett went down holding his hamstring. Howe wanted to experiment with Targett in midfield, but that experiment lasted just two minutes and forced Newcastle into an early change with Miggy Almiron replacing him.

The Magpies had originally lined up with five full-backs and no recognized striker, with Anthony Gordon playing up top.

Newcastle looked the more composed and were winning the battle in midfield. Joelinton was breaking the play up superbly with the help of captain Sean Longstaff.

Manchester United’s Hannibal was lucky to stay on the pitch after receiving a yellow card for a clumsy challenge on Newcastle’s captain for the night. He should have been sent off inside 20 minutes after a late challenge on Krafth.

Newcastle opened the scoring when Livramento burst past Mason Mount as if he wasn’t there, before sliding a super ball to Almiron who finished expertly to send a packed away-end absolutely potty.

Their celebrations would continue as Hall struck a brilliant volley into the bottom corner from just outside the box, Andre Onana had absolutely no chance. 2-0 up and cruising.

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Amrabat and Wan-Bissaka were brought on for Casemiro and Diogo Dalot at half-time which produced a response from Manchester United. The hope was short-lived though as Amrabat was dispossessed in his own half before Joe Willock powered in Newcastle’s third on the hour with a wonderful strike.

From then on Newcastle, who had already controlled large parts of the game, were completely dominant. Manchester United had no answer and looked dejected. The introductions of Marcus Rashford, Bruno Fernandes, and Rasmus Hojlund made very little difference as Newcastle marched into the quarter-finals with ease.

Their reward was, of course, one of the more difficult draws, a trip to Stamford Bridge to face Chelsea. Like Old Trafford, however, Stamford Bridge is not as daunting as it once was and it will give Newcastle confidence to reach the semi-finals.

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Player Ratings:

Dubravka - 8
Livramento - 10
Krafth - 9
Dummett - 9
Hall - 9
Ritchie - 8
Longstaff - 8
Joelinton - 10
Willock - 9
Almrion - 9
Gordon - 8

Next up for Howe’s side is the visit of Arsenal to St James’ Park, in yet another tough game before they travel to Dortmund for their next Champions League test.