Man City player ratings vs Newcastle with three 8/10s as James Trafford stars

Manchester City player ratings as they claimed a 2-0 win over Newcastle in the Carabao Cup semi-final first leg

Antoine Semenyo showed exactly why Manchester City bought him this month with a goal that gives them an important advantage in their Carabao Cup semi-final. Newcastle boss Eddie Howe was unhappy before the game started that Semenyo was eligible having already played for Bournemouth this season, and is unlikely to be any calmer after a 2-0 defeat.

Semenyo made the breakthrough at the back post after 53 minutes following good work from Jeremy Doku and Bernardo Silva to touch the ball on. The 26-year-old thought he had another shortly after from a corner but it was ruled out for offside after the referee had reviewed it on the monitor following a lengthy VAR review.

That boosted Newcastle and they made a raft of changes to try and get back on level terms on the night. However, City's defence stood tall in an excellent display from the team and Rayan Cherki added a second deep in injury time. Here are the player ratings from the Manchester Evening News.

Trafford: Some good saves and at least one outstanding one to protect City's goal in an excellent performance. 8

Nunes: City needed his physicality and benefitted from it at times, but he was always in trouble after a mistimed tackle on Gordon earned him a yellow. 6

Khusanov: An early moment where he jumped in and didn't get the ball, but pretty much faultless after that. 7

Alleyne: His dream start at the club continues with another solid performance, showing confidence again on the ball. 7

Ake: He was beaten for pace at times but his intelligence remains high and Guardiola used him to get messages across. 7

O'Reilly: It takes a special player to step into a midfield battle with Joelinton and Bruno Guimaraes and hold your own. And he is. 7

Silva: An important touch for the goal and he combined his industry with leading the team, although he lost his cool at times. 7

Foden: There were signs of improvement after a rest at the weekend but he still needs to find his top form again. 6

Semenyo: A quiet first half but good awareness for the opening goal and was horribly unlucky to see a second ruled out. 8

Doku: Always looked the City player most likely to create something and he forged the first after escaping his double marking. 8

Haaland: Unfortunate for the second goal, defended well, is still looking a little leaden-footed up front. 6

Substitutes

Rodri (for O'Reilly 62) Just about kept a lid on the game and defended manfully. 7

Reijnders (for Foden, 62) Dropped to help Rodri but teamed up with Haaland. 7

Lewis (for Nunes, 62) Helped City to keep the ball. 6

Cherki (for Doku, 77) Some nice balls through that nearly came off and then the important second. 7

Ait-Nouri (for Ake, 88) Terrific for the assist for Cherki. 7

Not used: Donnarumma, Gray, Mukasa, Cherki, McAidoo