Newcastle 2-3 Man City: De Bruyne shines

Goal
Newcastle:Isak (35'), Gordon (37')
Man City:Silva (26'), De Bruyne (74'), Bobb (90'+4)

Against Newcastle, Man City took the field with a 4-2-3-1 formation. De Bruyne, although healthy, was on the bench, while Jeremy Doku returned to the starting lineup and as usual played on the left. The opposite wing belonged to Phil Foden, while Bernardo Silva played as an attacking midfielder under center forward Julian Alvarez. In the last 2 visits to St. James' Park, Man City did not win against the Magpies with 1 loss and 1 draw.

Right after the opening whistle, the match took place at a very high speed. In the 2nd minute, Man City's net shook from Newcastle's lightning attack. However, fortunately for Pep Guardiola's team, VAR determined that the Magpies' player was offside. Not long after that, goalkeeper Ederson made a mistake with a bad pass right in the penalty area, but fortunately Man City did not have to pay the price.

In the 26th minute, the deadlock was broken by a moment of brilliance from a star. From Kyle Walker's cross from the right wing, Silva cut in with a skillful backheel with his right foot to score against Newcastle, opening the score for Man City. A classy and exemplary handling situation by the Portuguese midfielder.

It was thought that after this goal, Man City would have an easier time. However, the opposite happened. In the 35th minute, Alexander Isak quickly escaped, handled a few moves to eliminate Man City players, then kicked the ball into the top corner with his right foot, defeating Ortega, bringing the match back to the starting line.

Just 2 minutes later, Man City's net shook for the second time. Striker Anthony Gordon had the ball in the penalty area on the left wing. The star wearing the number 10 shirt turned into the middle and then skillfully cut the ball into the far corner, leaving Ortega helpless once again. The entire St. James' Park stadium seemed to explode after this moment of Gordon.

From leading to losing, Man City pressed forward with strong attacks in the second half. However, the defending champions appeared to be stuck and the difference only came when coach Guardiola decided to put De Bruyne on the field to replace Silva in the 69th minute. Less than 5 minutes after his appearance, the Belgian star made a difference.

In the 74th minute, receiving a pass from Rodri, De Bruyne dribbled straight into the middle and unleashed a low left-footed shot from outside the box into Newcastle's net, equalizing for Man City. De Bruyne's crucial goal helped Man City rekindle their hopes of turning the game around.

And when the clock struck 90+1, De Bruyne unleashed a deadly pass that eliminated the entire Newcastle defense for young talent Oscar Bobb to escape. Bobb's subsequent handling was also wonderful, passing goalkeeper Martin Dubravka and putting the ball into the Newcastle net, bringing a thrilling 3-2 victory for Man City.

This precious victory helped Man City climb to 2nd place in the Premier League 2023/24 with 43 points, 2 points behind the leader Liverpool. In round 22, Man City will host Burnley on February 1. Before that, they will meet Tottenham in the 4th round of the FA Cup on January 27.

Line-up
Newcastle:Dubravka, Trippier, Schar, Botman, Burn, Guimaraes, Longstaff, Miley, Almiron, Gordon (Hall 86'), Isak.
Man City:Ederson (Ortega 8'), Walker, Dias, Ake, Gvardiol, Rodrigo, Kovacic, Silva (De Bruyne 69'), Foden, Doku (Bobb 82'), Alvarez.