What Eddie Howe told Newcastle United players at half-time to spark win vs Man City

Eddie Howe urged his Newcastle United players to "go at" Manchester City in the second half of Wednesday evening's 1-0 Carabao Cup win.

Newcastle booked their place in the fourth round of the competition with a hard-fought 1-0 win over City at St. James' Park. Alexander Isak netted the only goal of the game on 53 minutes, tapping in from close range after a strong run and cross from Joelinton.

City had enjoyed the better of the first half, with good chances falling for Julian Alvarez and Josko Gvardiol. Newcastle came out swinging after half-time and Isak's goal came just eight minutes after the break, with the Magpies frontman explaining what changed during the break.

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"He [Howe] wanted us to get closer to them, to sacrifice and go at them and that’s what we did," Isak said. "We won a lot of balls in the second half and we could build on that."

City would have counted themselves unfortunate not to have gone into half-time with a lead, having seen Alvarez squander two great opportunities. Playing as a No.9 on the night, he twice found space in the box but saw one effort saved by Nick Pope while the other was flashed wide from an angle.

Newcastle played higher up the pitch after half-time, following a couple of changes that saw Bruno Guimaraes and Anthony Gordon introduced. The home side were able to utilise their support and get in City faces, with the winning goal a reward for their bravery.

"I said a few things," Howe admitted of his half-time talk. "I don't necessarily think it was anything I said so I won't give myself the credit for that. I'll give the players the credit for