Kevin De Bruyne and Raheem Sterling were on target while Manchester City holders had made it to the semi-finals of the FA with a 2-0 victory over Newcastle United.
A 2-1 backhand at Chelsea on Thursday officially ended City’s reign as Premier League champions and Pep Guardiola’s men looked out to make a start statement at St James’ Park.
De Bruyne, who turned 29 on Sunday, coldly scored a 37-minute penalty in what was the low reward for a dominant result in the first half.
Sterling then added a nice second 22 minutes from the time City made a final appointment with Arsenal at Wembley.
Riyad Mahrez thumped forward and made another effort off the pole just 20 yards when City threatened early.
Karl Darlow twice denied Sterling in a game that was quickly becoming an attack defense training exercise.
It took a silly push from Fabian Schar on Gabriel Jesus to take Newcastle down, however, with De Bruyne pulling the resulting penalty in the lower left corner.
Aymeric Laporte took the lead just before the break and Mahrez showed another chance shortly after the restart.
Newcastle should have been at the same level when Allan Saint-Maximin placed one on a plate for substitute Dwight Gayle, who surprisingly surprised by six yards with the goal wide open.
The city immediately made them pay. Sterling led the Newcastle defense and cut the inside before curling a nice finish in the lower right corner of 20 meters.
What does it mean? The city’s treble dream is intact
The Premier League trophy may be about to reside in Liverpool’s trophy cabinet for the first time, but City is still on the hunt for an EFL Cup, an FA Cup and the Champions League treble. They rarely had to get out of first gear here.
Sterling and Mahrez torment the defense of magpies
Steve Bruce’s game plan was clear: play in depth, keep it compact and hit on the counter. The only problem is that such a tactic allowed Sterling – who scored his first goal from outside the area since November 2018 – and Mahrez had ample opportunity to attack and both men were a constant threat.
That Schar was foolish, Fabian …
Newcastle was unimaginative, but defensively stubborn until Schar made two attempts to push Jesus to the ground. It was a real headache of a central defender’s decision, which put an end to the hosts’ resilience.
Key facts about Opta
– Newcastle have conceded two or more goals in 20 of their last 24 games against City in all competitions.
– The city has won their last 10 FA Cup games with an overall score of 37-4. They are only the third team to accomplish this feat since the beginning of the 20th century, after Aston Villa (10 between 1913 and 1914) and Chelsea (13 between 2009 and 2011).
– De Bruyne is the first City player to score a goal on his birthday since Nolito against Everton in October 2016.
– De Bruyne has been directly involved in 30 goals in all competitions this season (12 goals, 18 assists), more than any other player in the City.
What’s next?
The city will face Arsenal in the English Cup semi-finals, but is in the process of giving Liverpool a guard of honor when the new champions visit Etihad Stadium on Thursday, a day after Newcastle making the gigantic journey to Bournemouth. .
