Newcastle Toons
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Newcastle United: 3 players who let the team down vs. Man City

By Durim Halimi

Raheem Sterling of Manchester City and Sean Longstaff of Newcastle United. (Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images)
Raheem Sterling of Manchester City and Sean Longstaff of Newcastle United. (Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images) /
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Newcastle United were eliminated from the FA Cup on Sunday as a result of key players failing to perform.

Newcastle United will have to wait another year to test their luck in the FA Cup. Manchester City were on cruise control, but managed to advance to the next round thanks to Kevin De Bruyne and Raheem Sterling.

The game could have gone either way at one point, but Dwight Gayle missed a sitter in front of an open goal that would have made the game 1-1 midway through the second half. At the end of the day, the true blame for the Magpies’ struggles is linked to the following players.

Fabian Schar

What in the world was that display from the Swiss international? Schar was the worst defender on the pitch and was simply careless. His pointless pushes from behind led to a penalty after his teammates worked tirelessly to frustrate the opposition.

In addition, Schar was running like a passenger just roaming freely. He is known for being confrontational and closing in on attacking players, but he did not do any of that yesterday.

Sean Longstaff

Steve Bruce gave the youngster a chance to replace Jonjo Shelvey, but that proved to be a mistake. Longstaff had no composure on the ball, failed to spread the ball out wide to Miguel Almiron and Allan Saint-Maximin, and provided no creativity.

Newcastle United needed an anchor who could hold the ball with confidence and coordinate a few attacks. Longstaff has his moments, but he did not show up for the Toon yesterday.

Allan Saint-Maximin

Any section related to Saint-Maximin is usually filled with praise, but he was one of the worst performers for Newcastle United. The Frenchman gave the ball away several times in the first half due to heavy touches or excessive dribbling.

Next. This is where Newcastle will finish the season. dark

Yes, he did have one or two stellar moments out wide and delivered a great cross in the second half, but he needed to be at his best from start to finish. With Shelvey out, Saint-Maximin is responsible for leading counter-attacks, but that was not the case against Manchester City.