Newcastle United taught elite lesson by Manchester City as 15-0 final hurdle still eludes them

Newcastle United travelled to the Etihad Stadium in hope of ending a dismal record at the ground. Since the Citizens switched Maine Road for the stadium over two decades ago, the Magpies are yet to taste a league win and went into Saturday’s game on the back of 14 straight defeats at the ground - conceding 46 goals in that time.

The treble-winners certainly made their presence felt early doors with a flag and firework display as their three major honours were displayed on the pitch. Julian Alvarez’s opener after half an hour cemented the hosts’ dominance up to that point.

A spirited second-half performance dragged Newcastle back into the game but they failed to really hurt their opponents in a meaningful way.

After their 5-1 demolition of Aston Villa last weekend - a completely different set of questions were posed to the Magpies. The main one being - how would they cope with Erling Haaland? 

For the most part, they did very well. Whether it was Fabian Schar or Sven Botman up against the Norwegian, they were very physical and didn’t allow him to settle and have a comfortable afternoon in-front of goal.

Where they struggled to contain the hosts was through the midfield with City able to bypass their press and get at the defence with ease on multiple occasions. Bookings for Joelinton, Sandro Tonali, Anthony Gordon and Harvey Barnes before the hour mark - and Bruno Guimaraes just ten minutes later - really emphasised the physicality Newcastle had to exert against their opponents to get a foothold in the game.

They were able to match City’s energy, but it was the technical flair of the Premier League champions that really set them apart on the day. Phil Foden was superb for the hosts with Rodri, as he always seems to do, marshalling the midfield for Pep Guardiola.

Despite a promising opening to the second period, Newcastle failed to land a real glove on City and Howe’s decision to roll the dice and make four changes inside the first 20 minutes of the second-half showed the desire to change their fortunes and take the game to the reigning champions. And that decision certainly gave Newcastle the impetus and made them more of a threat as the game entered its final few minutes.

Barnes and Elliot Anderson combined well to fashion openings but, as the story of the day goes, they failed to turn these openings into genuine chances on goal. Anderson in particular was a bright spot for Newcastle and looked dangerous when given the chance to go forward.

Ultimately, Howe’s side fell just shy of matching one of the world’s best teams over 90 minutes and a moment of brilliance from their opponents settled the tie. Sometimes, that’s all it takes to win a game of football.

Newcastle’s quest to become one of the country and continent’s elite teams means, inevitably, that at some point they will have to overthrow the Citizens and that begins by finally ending their Etihad Stadium hoodoo. Up next is the visit of Liverpool and yet another chance to test their credentials.