Omar Marmoush delivered a decisive double as Manchester City beat Newcastle 3–1 at the Etihad, booking a Wembley final date.
Manchester City started strong and maintained their momentum throughout the match. Marmoush opened the scoring in the seventh minute. The forward drove toward the goal, and after Dan Burn’s clearance attempt, the ball took a heavy deflection off the Egyptian, looping beyond the goalkeeper and into the net.
Newcastle tried to equalize after the early blow, coming twice after City’s opener. However, the Magpies failed to deliver.
Manchester City kept the pressure high up the pitch. In the 29th minute, Antoine Semenyo found space inside the box and squared the ball to Marmoush, who nodded in a header from close range after a poor Kieran Trippier clearance.
Less than five minutes later, Tijjani Reijnders extended Manchester City’s lead to 3–0. The first half saw City dominate the match, leaving Newcastle United struggling to keep pace.
However, Newcastle managed to pull one back after the break through Anthony Elanga. The Swede scored just after the hour mark, but still, City stayed comfortably in control.
Marmoush had his eyes on a hat-trick. He found space in a promising position but lifted over the bar.
After the match, Marmoush admitted the opener rode his luck, “Of course I think the first goal was very lucky,” the Egyptian said.
However, he pointed to the move that created it, “I pulled the defender and played a one-two,” he added. “My touch wasn’t the best, but it went in.”
“I wish I had gotten the hat-trick today. But I’m very happy with two goals,” the forward said, before stressing the bigger prize. “We are here to win trophies.”
Marmoush also praised City’s focus from the first minute. “We showed a great mentality. We showed our character and passion in this match.”
Manchester City advanced 5–1 on aggregate and will face Arsenal in the final on March 22.