Pep Guardiola has reminded Manchester City's competitors that the season is still long after their 2-1 loss to Newcastle United. City, trailing Arsenal by four points, had a chance to narrow the gap before Arsenal's match against Tottenham. However, Harvey Barnes scored twice around Ruben Dias' goal in a seven-minute second-half burst, deciding the game after both teams missed several opportunities in the first half.
City could fall seven points behind the leaders after 12 matches. Their four defeats are the most at this stage since 2013-14 and also the most under Guardiola in his first 12 league games. Despite this, Guardiola remains calm. "We gave everything," he said. "We wanted to make progress like we have recently, but it's tough after an international
break. " He noted it was a close match with chances for both sides.
The first half of Saturday's match saw seven significant chances according to Opta, with Newcastle having four and City three. The teams combined for 2.59 expected goals (xG) before halftime—1.18 for Newcastle and 1.41 for City. This marked the highest number of big chances recorded since 2010-11 and the highest non-penalty xG total since 2012-13 in a scoreless Premier League first half.
Erling Haaland missed two of City's best opportunities, failing to lob Nick Pope and then shooting directly at him from Nico O'Reilly's pass. Matheus Nunes believes small margins determined the outcome. "I think it could have been different," Nunes stated. "We had many chances that we could have converted, and we'd be discussing a different game. "
Guardiola acknowledged that despite missing chances in the second half, they conceded a goal and couldn't secure a result. He emphasised that there's still a long way to go in the season. "There were more chances for both sides," he added, "but we couldn't get the result. " Gigio's performance was praised as extraordinary during this tight encounter.
Nunes reflected on how things might have turned out differently if they had capitalised on their opportunities. "Today wasn't our day," he said. "If it was another day, we would put all the balls in the net. " He concluded there isn't any magical explanation for their defeat.
As City looks ahead, Guardiola remains focused on improving performance while acknowledging their current position in the league standings.
