BERNARDO SILVA’S double kept them dreaming of the treble…even if Pep Guardiola refuses to entertain the idea for another few weeks.
The Manchester City gaffer insists he won’t even consider the prospect of repeating last term’s triple triumph until the last fortnight or so of the season.
Well, if all City’s opponents between now and then roll over as meekly as the Toon did here, it’s going to be another finale to remember for the Spaniard.
Let’s face it, it’s hard enough to get a result at this place at the best of times. When you’re dangling a leg, nodding a head and sticking the ball in the net for them, it becomes impossible.
That’s what happened last night, though, as twice Bernardo took aim with first half strikes, and twice his efforts were heading for goal.
Whether either would have ended up there? You’d have to say that was highly debatable. Let’s just say they weren’t exactly palm-stingers.
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Yet on both occasions they found a way past keeper Martin Dubravka thanks to a lazy leg, and a craned, ill-placed flick of the neck muscles.
First up it was Dan Burn on 13 minutes, turning his body sideways and stretching his right leg backwards in an almost languid attempt to block as Silva cut inside and shot.
The ball flicked the back of his leg, looped over Dubravka in an agonising, almost apologetic arc, and City were a goal up.
Given the lack of anything but the faintest flicker of a Geordie threat, essentially we could have all packed up and gone home there and then.
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There was never any serious danger of anything other than a sky blue stroll into the last eight.
But if there were any doubters, even they were convinced 13 minutes before the break when Bernardo cocked the trigger once again….and Newcastle pulled it for him.
In many ways it was a replica of the first, save for Ruben Dias shuffling the ball right to his Portuguese pal, rather than Rodri.
Once more Bernardo stepped back inside, once more he left rip with a shot that was directed, rather than dynamic.
And once more a Toon defender – this time Sven Bottman, craning his neck to make contact – changed its goalbound course.
It was hardly a deflection which left Dubravjka flat-footed, given the ball ended up going beneath the flying keeper’s legs.
If you were being cruel – okay, let’s be cruel – there was a decent case for thinking the Slovakian stopper could have made a better fist of keeping it out.
No matter, it was two down, and too big a mountain. Mind you, one goal had looked like Everest.
And in truth, Newcastle never really came close to even reaching base camp, let alone anywhere near the summit.
Let’s not forget, by the way, that losing here effectively brought the curtain down on their season.
One which began with hopes of a Champions League adventure and is stumbling towards a conclusion with them in tenth place and heading for the Europa Conference at best.
Not exactly what they had in mind when those Sheikh, rattle and rollers turned the place into Geordie Arabia, eh?
And the worrying thing for boss Eddie Howe is the way they bid such a limp and lame farewell to the FA Cup here.
Okay, City had 80 per cent of possession, yet there was just a lack of intensity and jeopardy. Magic of the Cup? In the main this was about as high octane as a pre-season game.
Occasionally City would inject a bit of energy and electricity into it. Like Jeremy Doku’s run and sidefoot which had Dubravka leaping to push his shot behind.
To be honest, there were times when the lightning Doku was racing at Jamal Lascelles when it was almost cruel.
Although the centre back’s hook-around-the-neck to stop him on one occasion was worthy of a Six Nations sin binning, rather than the yellow card it brought.
But back to the sights of goal, and Erling Haaland had another, whipping an effort a coat of paint wide, while a Josko Gvardiol rocket was deflected and this one went in Newcastle’s favour.
There was even, believe it or not, a moment of raised pulses in the sky blue backline when Alexandar Isak fired in a point blank snapshot that surely had to give them hope.
Well no, actually, because Stefan Ortega – deputising for Ederson after his self-inflicted Anfield injury a week ago – got down with an impressively strong left hand to beat it away.
Howe finally made a mass four-strong substitution in an effort to inject some life into his battered battalion. It brought a little more energy, but no nearer to an end product.
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Indeed, the closest we got to another goal came when Haaland bulldozed his way into the box, but this time Bottman deflected his shot over the bar.
All pretty routine, all pretty humdrum and – worryingly for Newcastle this season – all too familiar.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
