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FULL TIME: Manchester City 1-0 Newcastle United
The champions, the Treble Winners, march on.
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Eddie Howe speaks to TNT. “Tough game, as we knew it would be … they’re an elite team … we tried to press them high … I thought we did it better in the second half … when the moments came we weren’t clinical enough … the second-half showing was much better … fitness-wise we looked good … technically we were off, that’s probably where we lost it today, we turned the ball over quite a bit … we wanted to be ourselves but we didn’t execute it properly.”
That win puts the champions on Brighton’s tail. Next up for Pep’s men, a trip to Sheffield United next Sunday at 2pm. Next up for Newcastle, the visit of Liverpool two-and-a-half hours later.
Once it all comes down, Newcastle will take some positives from their performance. They made the best team in the world scrap to the very end, had a couple of decent opportunities themselves, and limited the damage in a fixture they always lose – that’s 15 wins in a row for City - to just one goal. They’ll play much worse this season and win easily. Manuel Akanji, the John Stones de nos jours, readily agrees, telling TNT: “They showed it last season, they are a great team … it wasn’t easy against them … but we did a good job … we defended really well as a team … Newcastle are a top-four team … adjusting in this position is something new but this is my fifth position playing in this team and I like to learn new things!”
A deserved victory for City, though Newcastle made the champions work for it. Phil Foden was outrageously good this evening, a cut above everyone else on the field, gliding around imperiously. He set up Julian Alvarez’s fine winner, and would have had at least a couple more assists had Erling Haaland been his normal clinical self. We’re just two games in, but already this is a team who look up for making it four in a row, and will take some stopping. Newcastle applaud their victors in the sporting fashion as City embark on a lap of honour to celebrate their Treble success. Oh, and Pep breaks off from blowing kisses to the crowd to give Alvarez, then Foden, a good talking-to. Of course he does!
FULL TIME: Manchester City 1-0 Newcastle United
The champions, the Treble Winners, march on.
90 min +4: “Jack had a good game too!” adds Nora Mulcahy.
90 min +3: The game is now being played entirely in Newcastle’s half. City’s desire to press to the bitter end is astonishing, given nine of tonight’s team started the Super Cup final on Wednesday, and Pep has made no subs tonight.
90 min +1: On TNT Sport, Ally McCoist names Phil Foden as player of the match. There can be no argument.
90 min: Grealish hits it long to Alvarez, who loops harmlessly into the arms of Pope. There will be five additional minutes.
89 min: Foden tries again, gliding into the box from the right, his low shot across goal deflected out for a corner. Grealish goes across to take it.
88 min: Alvarez finds Foden in acres on the right. Foden enters the box and aims a curler towards the top left. Walker, who was bombing down the flank on the overlap, and would have surely scored had he been played in, does a wee swearie.
86 min: Almiron is replaced by Livramento, who makes his Newcastle debut.
85 min: Rodri dribbles about in the centre circle awhile. He’s got no options ahead, and accordingly delivers his forwards a rollocking.
83 min: With City still not certain of three points, TNT cut to a shot of Pep offering a critical fan his place on the bench. All in good humour with the fan laughing heartily.
81 min: Foden sends Alvarez into space down the right. Alvarez attempts to find Haaland in the centre with a looping cross but Botman clears.
79 min: Foden batters long for Haaland, who briefly threatens to barge his way past Botman and Schar, but misjudges the bounce, allowing the Newcastle pair to tidy up.
78 min: Almiron runs at Grealish down the right. Grealish does exceptionally well to stand firm, refusing to let him pass with a crunching block. Newcastle come again. Almiron attempts a curler from the edge of the box but once again Grealish denies him, getting in the road of the shot.
76 min: Anderson and Almiron combine cutely down the right, but the former, sent into space by a lovely reverse pass, overhits his cross. Almiron drops his shoulders in misery. He’s been Newcastle’s brightest spark this evening.
75 min: Foden swings it in the general environs of the aforementioned mixer, but first man Trippier makes up for his mistake by heading clear.
74 min: Grealish dances in from the left and is caught by Trippier. Free kick and a chance for City to load the box. Get it in the mixer, son!
73 min: Almiron goes barrelling down the right again but doesn’t have anyone up in support with him and is soon swarmed.
72 min: Guimaraes rakes his studs down the shin of Foden. Yellow card, but you’ve seen them given. Newcastle have had the benefit of a couple of borderline refereeing decisions tonight. Another night, another referee, and they could be down to nine.
71 min: Rodri allows Almiron to strip him of possession in the centre circle. Wilson picks up possession and suddenly Newcastle are three on one! Wilson can’t get past that one, though, and Gvardiol does extremely well to ensure his opponent can’t find either Almiron or Longstaff. Big chance spurned there.
69 min: Grealish is skittled, fairly, by Schar, but nevertheless isn’t happy about it. Some low-level moaning and finger-pointing, but nothing serious.
67 min: Another Newcastle double change. Tonali and the strangely quiet Isak are replaced by Wilson and Anderson.
66 min: Almiron is sent scampering down the right at full pelt. He looks up, stops, and finds Guimaraes infield. Guimaraes is in acres of space … but somehow can’t get the ball out from under his feet, despite having all day to do so. He eventually dribbles an appalling shot miles left. He had to work Ederson at the very least.
64 min: Foden to Haaland yet again. Haaland powers into the box down the right before shooting low and hard towards the bottom left. Pope sticks out an instinctive leg and hacks away.
63 min: Foden does his space-inventing thing in midfield again. He sashays down the middle before finding Haaland on the edge of the D. Haaland scuffs his shot, which nevertheless nearly bobbles into the bottom right. Just wide. Foden is borderline unplayable tonight. He’s been so easy on the eye.
61 min: “That Gordon tackle was a straight red for Alexis Mac Allister earlier today, wasn’t it,” writes Simon Staffans. A thin line between being allowed to play at St James’ Park next weekend and not, that’s for sure.
59 min: Foden makes space out of nothing with a spin in midfield, then slides in Haaland, who is about to shoot until Schar extends a leg and forces him to shin wide. That’s wonderful defending. But what a turn by Foden, who has been a class apart this evening.
58 min: Barnes goes into the book for a cynical tug on Walker.
56 min: Eddie Howe does the smart thing and immediately hooks Gordon. He’s replaced by Barnes, while Joelinton, who has hurt himself while fouling Foden, makes way for Sean Longstaff.
54 min: Gordon, already on a booking, catches Dias late. Play is waved on, and Joelinton clatters into Foden. Joelinton goes into the book as Gordon, cheeks flushed and sheepish, blows his cheeks out in relief.
52 min: The pace drops a little. City have been coasting a bit since the restart. Pound to a penny Pep won’t be happy.
50 min: City go direct for Haaland, who nearly powers his way past Botman down the inside-left channel. Haaland gets a shot in anyway, but it’s an easy gather for Pope. “Sandro Tonali’s bouffant, with full side-parting (quite a contrast to the Roundhead Foden) is only a week or two of growth off early-80s levels,” writes Rob Knap, before throwing the names of Tony Hadley and John Duttine out there. These are the sort of references the internet kids want all right.
49 min: Joelinton rolls a pass in from the left. Gordon spins elegantly down the channel before slashing a wild shot off target.
48 min: Gordon dribbles in from the left and shoots. Blocked. Newcastle have obviously been given the what-for during the half-time break.
47 min: Isak is bowled over from behind by Rodri in the City box. The whistle goes … but Burn was caught an inch or two offside in the build-up. That might have been interesting had the flag not gone up … and there wasn’t much in the offside decision either. City breathe again.
Newcastle get the second half underway. No changes. Alvarez immediately goes into the book for a pointless grab at an in-flight Tonali, who was going nowhere in particular in midfield.
Half-time appetite whetter. You’ll obviously have heard there’s a football match on tomorrow morning …
HALF TIME: Manchester City 1-0 Newcastle United
The Treble winners lead at the break. Deservedly so.
45 min +2: Trippier is sent scampering down the right on the overlap. He crosses deep, the ball evading Dias and Akanji and dropping towards Gordon, six yards out. Gordon opts to take a touch, as opposed to hitting it first time. Wrong decision, because he miscontrols, and Newcastle’s best chance of the evening is gone, as quickly as that.
45 min +1: The first of three additional minutes passes by without incident.
45 min: Grealish steams down the left and earns a corner. Newcastle clear it. Grealish comes again down the wing and looks to have been barged over by Almiron, but he’s not getting the foul. He smiles and applauds the referee, and wants to watch himself doing that in the current officious climate.
43 min: Pep Guardiola, his salt-and-pepper beard thickening in the style of Alexei Sayle, sits impassively on a pitchside coolbox. His team are in control.
41 min: Action at both ends. Schar chases a ball down the inside-right channel and goes over under shoulder-fuelled pressure from Akanji. Penalty? Nope, though Akanji looked slightly sheepish as he left the scene. Then Ederson launches long, and soon enough Haaland is spinning on the edge of the Newcastle box, his low diagonal steer bobbling inches wide of the right-hand post.
39 min: Newcastle calm things down a little with some sterile possession.
