Newcastle played up to the raucous St. James’ Park atmosphere with some promising early play, experiencing particular joy from set-pieces.
Jack Grealish – who had failed to score so far in 2024 – almost found his own net while defending a Newcastle corner, while the loss of Rodri to a season-ending injury in City’s 2-2 draw with Arsenal left them occasionally overrun by the likes of returning Sandro Tonali and Bruno Guimarães in midfield.
Still, the visitors have lost just one of their last 33 against Newcastle, and it was only a matter of time before things started to go their way.
Erling Haaland showed plenty of physicality in the first half, but a brilliant Kieran Trippier interception denied him from turning in Bernardo Silva’s low cross.
That was just a warning though, and the opener came courtesy of a tricky Grealish run, with City’s record-signing playing in the overlapping Joško Gvardiol, who shifted inside and passed into the far corner.
İlkay Gündoğan then failed to take advantage of a Nick Pope mistake as he looked for a second, before Joelinton swivelled and forced Ederson into a reflex stop on the stroke of HT.
That chance fired up Eddie Howe’s side for the second half, and they were soon rewarded with a penalty when Anthony Gordon was taken down by Ederson having been played clean through by Guimarães.
Newcastle’s makeshift number nine stepped up himself to bury the spot-kick, setting off a spell of dominance in which City looked repeatedly stretched at the back, including when Harvey Barnes was stopped one-on-one by Ederson.
Shots on target from Sean Longstaff and Silva threatened to make things interesting at either end, but there was to be no killer chance to yield a winner.
Impressive as it is, Newcastle’s ongoing unbeaten run on home turf is bettered by City’s 28-match PL run without a loss at any ground, but Pep Guardiola will know that dropped points in successive games mean they could relinquish top spot if results for Liverpool or Aston Villa go against them this weekend.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Bruno Guimarães (Newcastle United)
