Chris Sutton says Newcastle United got their approach all wrong against Manchester City.
The Magpies went into the game hoping to end their Etihad Stadium nightmare, but their record just got worse. Newcastle United lost 4-0 to Manchester City, with Omar Marmoush running riot.
Kieran Trippier could not handle Marmoush, while the rest of his Newcastle United teammates produced an extremely concerning performance. Lewis Miley was the only Newcastle player to receive praise, after coming on at half-time when the Magpies were 3-0 down.
The Newcastle United fans that travelled to Manchester were massively let down, with some supporters suggesting that it was Eddie Howe’s side’s worst display of the season.
Newcastle United were ‘brave’ but foolish against Manchester City
That is up for debate, but there is no denying that Newcastle United got their tactics wrong on Saturday.
That is the view of Chris Sutton, who has told BBC Radio 5 Live that Pep Guardiola’s side ‘exposed’ what was a ‘brave’ but risky approach from the Magpies.
“Newcastle were brave and thought they could press Manchester City high,” he said.
“In many ways it was suicidal. It is brave but if you are going to go and leave your defenders one-v-one against the likes of Haaland and Marmoush – the first goal was a misjudgement from Trippier – then you are going to be in a bit of bother.
“Manchester City exposed it brilliantly. I don’t think I’ve ever seen them go that direct that much.”
Rare tactical mistake by Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe
In big games like this, Eddie Howe normally gets his tactics spot on. We saw him do that against Arsenal recently, with Newcastle shifting to five at the back for their Carabao Cup semi-final against the Gunners.
Howe wanted to play Sven Botman, while Fabian Schar was asked to step forward from defence and into midfield. It worked, with the Swiss centre-back nullifying Declan Rice’s ability to progress the ball up the pitch.
Newcastle have different tactical approaches for different opponents, and Howe must have thought that pressing Man City was the right way to go about Saturday’s game.
However, the press was nowhere near as intense, and that resulted in Man City exposing the space that Newcastle had given up.
A bold gameplan was very poorly executed, and it resulted in a humiliating defeat for Eddie Howe’s team.
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