It is a cliche, but the game at St James’ Park on Wednesday night was certainly a match of two halves. Manchester City were dominant in the first half, albeit without creating any chances of note. In the second half, we were at our best and pressed City high up the pitch. It was a brave approach, but it paid off and Alexander Isak scored the winner. The Carabao Cup dream lives on.
Below, we rate the performances of each player.
Nick Pope – 7 – The goalkeeper has kept his fourth successive clean sheet across all competitions. There were some nice punches from his line to relieve the pressure. He didn’t have any difficult saves to make, with the standout being a save with his foot from Julian Alvarez.
Valentino Livramento – 9.5* – It was a full debut for Livramento and he was excellent. The right back made eight tackles, as he had to face Jack Grealish and Jeremy Doku. This was in addition to three interceptions and six recoveries. One tackle to deny Matheus Nunes was potentially a match winner. A 93% pass accuracy is very impressive, while he also created a decent chance for Tonali early in the second half. Brilliant at both ends.
Jamaal Lascelles – 8 – This was a good performance from the captain. There were some nerves in the first half, especially in his passing. His belief grew throughout the match and his pass into Jacob Murphy in the build up to the goal was excellent. 7 clearances in the match showed his value.
Paul Dummett – 7.5 – It was a surprise to see the defender start the match, especially at centre back. He was sometimes too aggressive in his pressing, but he adapted to the role throughout the match. In stoppage time, his challenge-cum-clearance raised the roof at St James’ Park.
Matt Targett – 7 – The left-back was probably the least noticeable of the back four, but he went about his work well. It was one of his best performances for a while, as he kept things simple. This should give him confidence.
Sandro Tonali – 6.5 – The first half was underwhelming, as he looked unsuited to the deeper midfield role. There were a few turnovers that put us in difficult defensive situations. However, he was much better in the second half and showed some purposeful drives forward with the ball. The relationship with Bruno Guimaraes is getting better.
Lewis Miley – 6 – It was a difficult game to be thrown into. Miley competed well and physically didn’t look out of place. He didn’t misplace a pass during his time on the pitch.
Lewis Hall – 6 – The summer signing has been praised for his versatility and that was on show in the first 45 minutes. Hall was used on the wing, at full back and in midfield. Howe was moving him around the pitch to try and get control. There were some positives, as he had a few decent touches early on, but it was a difficult first half for everyone and a tough night for Hall before he was hooked at half time.
Joelinton – 8.5 – A slight surprise came when Joelinton was named in the line up. It was great to have him back and he was back to his destructive best, with several tackles and fouls. His intent to win the ball back was one of the highlights of the first half, while his assist for Isak was incredible skill. A dominant return to action.
Jacob Murphy – 7.5 – The midweek games seem to be the ones that Murphy is playing at the moment. In the first half, he missed a good chance, but he continued to carry a threat in the second half. He kept dropping into the pockets and that made him difficult to defend against. He played a key role in the goal.
Alexander Isak – 8 – It was a relentless pressing performance from the Swede, as he regularly nicked the ball back in advanced areas. Only a fabulous piece of defending from Josko Gvardiol stopped him from scoring in the first half. He took his goal well and was integral to our quick start to the second half.
SUBS:
Bruno Guimaraes – 8 – We were outrun in the first half, so it was important that Howe made changes at half time. Bruno is getting back to his best in the middle of the park and he was excellent in the second half. An 88% pass success rate showed that he helped us get more control of the game after some cheap turnovers in the first half.
Anthony Gordon – 7.5 – It wasn’t a fluent attacking display from Gordon, despite one good run and shot in the second half. However, his energy and pressing was key to us getting control of the game.
Miguel Almiron – 6.5 – Almiron helped us keep pressing from the front and he made some nice contributions with the ball. 6.5
Fabian Schar – N/A
Elliot Anderson – N/A
