dc188 Man City 4-0 Newcastle United: Eddie Howe Refuses Excuses After Etihad Drubbing - 'They Played Well, We Didn't'

Howe was unimpressed by the manner of Newcastle's defeat at Man City Howe was unimpressed by the manner of Newcastle's defeat at Man City

Eddie Howe insists Newcastle United "can't look for excuses" following their humbling 4-0 defeat by Manchester City. (More Football News)dc188

The Magpies were outclassed by Pep Guardiola's side at the Etihad Stadium, where Omar Marmoush scored a 14-minute first-half hat-trick, while James McAtee completed the rout later on. 

It was Newcastle's biggest Premier League defeat since they were beaten 5-0 by the same opponents on the same ground in May 2022.

In fact, they have now lost each of their last 16 away games against City in the division, and Howe felt his players were lacking in the physical department against the reigning champions.

"It was a tough day at the office," he said. "They played well, we didn't. They are still the toughest team to play against. We were not at our best today.

"They ask so many questions of you, put you under pressure. They did not have a bundle of chances, but they did what they needed to do.

"From the off, we were lacking in duels, the physical side. Man City are so good in the build-up. To disrupt that, you have to be exceptional physically, and we weren't."

Full-time.pic.twitter.com/MpcSAIeJ7X

2x45win slot— Newcastle United (@NUFC) February 15, 2025

Newcastle struggled to create anything against City, managing just three shots,jolibet and only one on target, which came in the 60th minute via Lewis Miley.

Man City 4-1 Newcastle United: Guardiola Keen To See How Hat-Trick Hero Marmoush 'Handles' Hype

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At the other end, they gave up 11 chances, worth 1.89 expected goals, with the hosts sending seven of those at Martin Dubravka's goal.

Howe continued: "All the goals we conceded today, we will look back on with frustration. It becomes difficult when you chase the game today, really tough.

"We can't look for excuses, there are a load of reasons we could look at. But the players should have been fresh and ready to perform. They didn't.

Ikram has a long association with the sport. The former Pakistan and China hockey coach is a member of the IOC Olympic Solidarity Commission, and has been an Executive Board member of the FIH since 2016. On 5 November 2022, he was elected as the 13th President of FIH.

The South Korean team, on the other hand, is coming off a strong yet disappointing performance against Japan, ending in a 5-5 draw. They began their Asian Champions Trophy 2024 tournament with a 2-2 draw against Pakistan on Monday.

"We've got some tough gamesdc188, the fixture list will test us. We have to dust ourselves off for next week."