"Newcastle's results have been strong lately - they'd won four on the bounce in all competitions prior to welcoming Manchester City to St James' Park for the first leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final on Tuesday - but fatigue has been more prevalent. Eddie Howe's men have barely had a break all season and the head coach didn't hide his frustration at needing extra time and penalties to get past Bournemouth in the FA Cup at the weekend."
"Fatigue played a part for us today, generally, Howe said after the game. It is understandable with the exertions we gave on Saturday. It is such a quick turnaround against the worst team you can face to expose any fatigue because they keep the ball so well. We tried our best to rouse ourselves to the level we wanted and it was a decent enough performance without being great."
Newcastle entered the Carabao Cup semi-final after a four-match winning run but were visibly fatigued against Manchester City, losing 2-0 with second-half goals from Antoine Semenyo and Rayan Cherki. The squad has played many games with minimal rest, and fatigue showed in both players and fans. Eddie Howe expressed frustration after needing extra time and penalties to beat Bournemouth in the FA Cup at the weekend. Defensive issues have compounded problems: several options are ageing, Kieran Trippier and Fabian Schär face summer contract uncertainty, and Schär suffered ankle ligament damage after the Leeds win, cooling renewal talks.
Read at www.fourfourtwo.com
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