Pep Guardiola was incensed after Newcastle impacted Manchester City’s Premier League title bid with a contentious 2-1 victory on Saturday. Guardiola’s team fell behind to Harvey Barnes’ second-half opener
at St James’ Park before Ruben Dias equalised for the visitors. Shortly after Dias levelled the score, Barnes netted Newcastle’s disputed second goal, which stood following a lengthy VAR review for a potential offside against Bruno Guimaraes.
Guardiola believed City keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma had been fouled in the build-up to Barnes’ winner and was also frustrated by a denied first-half penalty claim for Phil Foden. At full-time, Guardiola stormed onto the pitch to confront referee Sam Barrott but later stated, “everything is fine” when asked about the incident.
“It happened in the Bournemouth game and it happened today again. It is what it is after VAR decided. They know perfectly,” he said with a hint of sarcasm about Newcastle’s second goal.
“You see Donnarumma complain and that is because something wrong happened.
“It was an entertaining game, we both had chances and then there was a momentum shift and ultimately we couldn’t win.”
Premier League Table Implications
City’s fourth league defeat this season left them in third place, four points behind leaders Arsenal, who host Tottenham on Sunday. City entered the international break with a 3-0 victory over troubled champions Liverpool, making it seven wins from eight games in all competitions. However, they lost that momentum in an error-prone performance on Tyneside, with Erling Haaland going goalless for only the third time in 21 matches for City and Norway this season.
Haaland, aiming to score his 100th league goal in his 109th appearance since joining from Borussia Dortmund in 2022, wasted several opportunities. Newcastle capitalised to secure their second win over City in their last 36 league encounters. Eddie Howe’s first win over City in 19 top-flight attempts eased the pain of Newcastle’s consecutive league defeats at West Ham and Brentford before the international break.
Donnarumma nearly handed Newcastle the lead within 30 seconds with a poor pass intercepted by Barnes, but the winger wasted the chance by shooting straight at the Italian from 10 yards. Haaland was equally culpable moments later, scuffing his attempt to chip over Nick Pope after the Newcastle keeper rashly rushed out of his area in response to Jeremy Doku’s pass.
Foden missed from a good position inside the area before appealing in vain for a penalty after Fabian Schar’s crunching tackle left him in pain. Foden and City’s coaching staff were livid with the decision, their frustration growing when Jacob Murphy avoided conceding a spot-kick after blocking Doku’s shot with his arm. In a half of poor finishing, Barnes missed a golden opportunity by shooting wide from close range with the goal at his mercy. Even Haaland misfired, flicking Nico O’Reilly’s cross straight at Pope from five yards. Remarkably, Foden produced an even worse miss, dragging wide from Rayan Cherki’s pass just before half-time.
City eventually cracked as Barnes redeemed his earlier misses with a fine finish in the 64th minute, lashing a low drive past Donnarumma from the edge of the area after Guimaraes’ run and pass unlocked the defence. Guardiola’s men trailed for just four minutes. Bernardo Silva’s shot was blocked towards Dias, whose powerful strike from 12 yards deflected in off Schar. But Dias’s first league goal since scoring at Newcastle four years ago prompted an immediate response from Howe’s side.
When Nick Woltemade guided his header across goal, Guimaraes nodded against the bar, and the rebound fell to Barnes to volley home. The extended VAR check for offside against Guimaraes seemed to favour City but ultimately went in Newcastle’s favour, as the Magpies fans celebrated a memorable victory.
(With inputs from Agencies)
