Match Report: Manchester City 2-1 Newcastle United

Newcastle put in a strong effort against Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium in the Premier League but ultimately left empty-handed.

By Liam Rafferty

City’s Nico O’Reilly opened the scoring in the 14th minute when his 20-yard strike found the bottom-left corner of the goal.

The Magpies levelled the game in the 22nd minute through Lewis Hall – Jacob Ramsey laid off a pass to Hall, and his deflected shot found the back of the net.

Manchester City restored their lead when O’Reilly grabbed his second goal of the game. Erling Haaland lofted a ball into the box over the Newcastle defence onto O’Reilly’s head, and the ball went past Nick Pope.

Closing the gap

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola’s side came into the game desperate for a win after Arsenal had dropped points midweek against bottom-of-the-league Wolverhampton Wanderers.

This was the fourth meeting between the two sides, and they were due to face each other again next month in the FA Cup.

16' SAVE! Played through by Nick Woltemade’s lofted pass from deep, Anothony Gordon raced into the left side of the area, checked inside his marker and fired across goal. He aimed for the bottom-right corner, but Ganluigi Donnarumma dived down to make his first save.

18' SAVE! The game became end-to-end. Omar Marmoush charged into the area and lashed a firm shot towards goal, but it was aimed too close to Pope, who parried it away confidently.

22' SAVE! Donnarumma denied Malick Thiaw. The German defender rose highest to meet a corner delivered by Sandro Tonali, only to see his powerful header tipped over the bar by City’s goalkeeper.

'Flagged offside'

42' – VAR GOAL CHECK! Tonali curled in a precise free-kick from the left, finding Dan Burn’s head in the centre of the six-yard box. The Newcastle defender powered his header into the net but was immediately flagged offside. A quick VAR check confirmed the assistant’s decision.

45' CLOSE! After beating two players with deft footwork, Haaland drove a low shot narrowly wide of the left-hand post. He had failed to score in his previous eight games against Newcastle and would have been eager to end that run.

45+3' MISS! Marmoush came close to adding a third City goal just before half-time. He drove into space outside Newcastle’s area but sent a curling shot wide of the left-hand post.

45+5 'SAVE! Marmoush went close again. After another surge into the box, the Egyptian forward tested Pope with a low 15-yard shot. Thiaw had done well to hold him up, though the finish might have been cleaner.

64 'SAVE! Pope comfortably stopped a shot from Antoine Semenyo. The City winger benefited from a neat interchange between Haaland and Bernardo Silva on the edge of the area, but his effort was weak and straight at the goalkeeper.

90+1'Pope produced a fantastic double save to deny both Haaland and Foden late on.