Carabao Cup: Semenyo scores again as Manchester City beat Newcastle in the first leg of the semi-final

Manchester City’s Antoine Semenyo scored two goals from two games for his new club, and Rayan Cherki struck in stoppage time as Pep Guardiola’s side beat Newcastle United 2-0 in the first leg of the League Cup (also known as Carabao Cup) semi-final on Tuesday.

Semenyo, who signed a £65 million ($87.25 million) deal from Bournemouth this month, got on the end of Jeremy Doku’s cross in the 53rd minute to score from close range.

It could have ended even better for Semenyo, who thought he had given City a 2-0 lead later on, but his neat finish was ruled out for a subjective offside decision after a lengthy VAR check.

City gave themselves a cushion for the second leg on February 4 when Cherki curled in a low shot to stun the home fans.

Newcastle’s best chances came just after half-time when City keeper James Trafford did a great job of pushing Yoane Wissa’s effort against the crossbar, and Bruno Guimaraes fired a low shot against the woodwork immediately afterwards.

Eddie Howe’s side claimed Newcastle’s first domestic silverware since 1955 last season when they defeated Liverpool at Wembley in March, but now face an uphill battle to reach a second successive final.

Semenyo opened his City account ⁠in the 10-1 win over Exeter City in the FA Cup on Saturday and is the first City player to score in his first two games for the club in all competitions since Emmanuel Adebayor in 2009.

‘SMILE ON MY FACE’

«The whole environment here is perfect. Everyone is confident and wants to achieve the best,» said Semenyo, who also scored in his farewell match for Bournemouth last week.

«I’m picking things up very quickly and enjoying it. I’m just taking the confidence I had here from Bournemouth and playing with a smile on my face. I’m enjoying every moment.»

Howe was disappointed with the rule change that meant Semenyo was eligible to play in the competition, despite also playing for Bournemouth in the second round in August, and his fears were justified as the winger tormented his side.

Things might have been different for Newcastle had Wissa not scored an early chance over the bar.

“Looking back, you’d say this is potentially a big turning point,” Howe said of the opportunity. “We wanted to fully involve the audience in the match.”

City grew in stature and after a few scares early in the second half took control.

Semenyo showed a goal-sniffing instinct to get on the end of Doku’s cross after it was tapped in by Bernardo Silva.

The Ghanaian celebrated again when he found the net by tapping in a corner, but after almost six minutes of VAR checks and a pitch-side check, the goal was disallowed as Erling Haaland was deemed to be obstructing play and found himself fractionally offside.

“Four officials and the VAR couldn’t make the decision; they had to go to the referee,” Guardiola said. “We know how it works and that will make us stronger.”

It was at the end of nine minutes of stoppage time, most of which was added to the VAR decision, that Cherki came in from a low cut-back from the left from Rayan Ait Nouri to put City on course for their first final in the competition since 2021.

Arsenal will face Chelsea in the first leg of the other semi-final on Wednesday.

Published on January 14, 2026