Crowned world champion in Jeddah, Manchester City was doing much better with two consecutive victories in the Premier (against Everton, 3-1 and against Sheffield United, 2-0) and qualification for the FA Cup, against Huddersfield (5-0). But in addition to a just-returned De Bruyne, Pep Guardiola had to go to Newcastle with a reduced squad, without Akanji, Stones and Haaland. The Magpies then hoped to take the opportunity to end a terrible run of four defeats in five Premier League matches.
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The start of the game did not lack for twists and turns, since in a few seconds, Longstaff thought he would open the score… but was ultimately in an offside position. And in this same action, the Skyblues lost Ederson to injury (6th). A situation which infuriated Guardiola, but despite this, his men held on and Silva, with a sublime backheel, was able to take a cross from Walker to open the scoring (1-0, 26th).
Winning comeback for De Bruyne
But just when we thought the Magpies were going to collapse, a magnificent blind pass from Guimaraes found Isak for the equalizer straight away (1-1, 35th). Stunned, the Cityzens even fell behind in a few seconds after a sublime curl from Gordon (2-1, 37th). Manchester City seemed to be at rock bottom, but one event would change everything: the entry of De Bruyne. While his teammates were struggling, the Belgian seemed to improve all his partners.
And obviously, the equalizer, with a nice shot placed at ground level, could only come from him (2-2, 73rd). Manchester City then woke up, but it was too late and Dubravka showed vigilance throughout the second half (52nd, 57th, 83rd). And to make the evening even more beautiful, De Bruyne released a gem of a pass towards Bobb. The other Norwegian from City magnificently eliminated Dubravka to snatch the victory (90th + 3) and come back to two points behind the leader, Liverpool. A total disillusionment for the Toons, dropped into the soft underbelly of the ranking.
