Newcastle United defeated Manchester City 2-1 at St James’ Park on Saturday, securing their first Premier League win over City since 2019 and moving four points clear of the relegation zone.
Harvey Barnes
scored both goals for Newcastle, while Ruben Dias was on target for the visitors.
The first half, somehow, ended in a goalless draw despite clear chances for both sides. Gianluigi Donnarumma made key saves from Barnes and Nick Woltemade, while Nick Pope denied Phil Foden and Erling Haaland.
Manchester City had two penalty appeals in the first 45 minutes, but neither was awarded after VAR reviews. Now, that’s a shocker.
The deadlock was broken in the 63rd minute when Bruno Guimaraes set up Barnes, who finished low past Donnarumma. Manchester City equalised five minutes later through Dias, who scored after Newcastle failed to clear a corner.
Newcastle responded quicker than quickly.
In the 70th minute, Woltemade’s header reached Guimaraes, whose effort struck the bar before Barnes scored the rebound from close range. The goal was confirmed following a lengthy VAR check for a possible Bruno offside, though the review left no doubt of Bruno’s foot being the proper size for the play to be completely legal.
Manchester City players, including Ruben Dias and goalkeeper Donnarumma, also protested that Donnarumma had been fouled for the winning goal, but the match officials allowed it to stand. Alas.
The result leaves City third in the Premier League, while Newcastle move up to 14th place. Astonishingly, City might have lost all their season hopes (winning the Premier League) on Saturday while Newcastle found a way to hyperboost theirs (a top-4 finish).
“The heart, the endeavour, the attitude of the group pleased me today,” Howe said after the game. “Very pleased – it should give us a big lift in a tough Premier League season.”
Howe also described Barnes as “always a goal threat” and praised his finishing after a horrible first half that had him looking worse than bad.
Newcastle’s next match is away to Marseille in the Champions League on Tuesday, November 25 at 3 p.m. ET, when the Magpies will have a chance to clinch their presence in the knockout stages.
