Newcastle 2-1 Man City – Premier League: Live score, team news and updates as Pep Guardiola’s side go in search of an equaliser at the beginning of the second half

Well, that didn’t take long.

De Bruyne shows the Premier League what we’ve been missing as he slaloms through the Newcastle defence to coolly pass the ball straight through Schar’s legs to glide past Dubravka.

Unbeatable from the Belgian.

Foden is next to have a pop from the right of the six-yard box – Man City are relentless now, but Newcastle have been able to answer all of the questions asked of them thus far.

Rodri sends a flying cross over the box which falls out for a goalkick – surpisingly. Or less surprisingly, when a replay shows his ball skimming the shin of Longstaff.

But Kavanagh doesn’t give the corner, much to group hysteria.

De Bruyne is immediately put to work and takes the freekick, which he strikes well – only to find the wall.

A much stronger chance comes with the remains, and Alvarez standing over the penalty spot. He clears the crossbar looking for the top corner, and clutches his head in agony.

Guardiola changes his mind and brings on De Bruyne for Silva, who is greeted with anxious boos from the home support.

He joins Man City preparing to take a freekick just to the right at the top of the box.

As usual, Newcastle’s chance for a third is plucked from thin air, with Isak again the sharp prong of the Magpies attack as he splits the defence to arrive in the box at pace.

He’s stopped by Ortega, and Man City successful defend the remains.

Less than a minute later, Kovacic at the other end has a typically wild shot from distance.

De Bruyne prepares to come on as Alvarez tests Dubravka yet again with a shot at close range.

He will be swapped for Doku, who wins a corner as one of his last actions on the pitch that City are able to do very little with.

Chaos in the Newcastle box as Man City stream forward, with Walker sending the ball into the box at the dead ball line. Foden grapples with it, but Guimaraes is fiercer, and even though he ends up on the ground, Man City are kept out.

Foden has a shot from the edge of the box, forcing Dubravka to make the save, but there’s little to really trouble Newcastle from it.

However, Man City are constantly on top of possession, and prepare to come again from yet another corner.

Guimaraes races to meet a long pass on the dead ball line and he catches it to send a whippy cross straight into the box.

Newcastle can’t make it pay, but the Brazilian’s attempt shows off the potent threat that the Magpies do have. A third isn’t out of the question – nor is a thumping Man City victory.

Schar heads towards the box with intent and is hacked down by Silva, who picks up a yellow card. City are fuming, as they feel they’ve been maligned when Burn’s earlier similar challenge escaped significant punishment.

It’s a fine freekick, but Ortega can gather up the final light tough from a Newcastle head.

Alvarez wallops the ball towards goal and Dubravka pulls off a flying leap to punch the ball away from danger. That could have been fatal from the Argentine, whose strike was heading straight for the netting.

Rodri on the run is tumbled by Burn just ahead of the box, and Man City are handed a freekick in a tempting area.

On the touchline, De Bruyne is warming up. That should focus the minds of Newcastle.

Trippier disposses Doku, but Gvardiol returns the Newcastle favour and sneaks the ball back. Man City continue to look a regular fixture in the attacking third.

Ake lofts in a corner but Burn forces the ball back out and Alvarez is forced to look for a route in down the right.

The visitors want an equaliser, badly, but Newcastle are content to sit deep and make sure they don’t get one.

Man City look to start on the front foot and maintain their high line.

Doku looks to sneak into the box from the left but Newcastle are wedged in defence and manage to push the ball back, forcing Man City to reset.

The visitors are only to threaten enough to yield them a corner.

The teams come back out and into the cold Tyneside air for what we hope is another scintillating 45 minutes.

This time, the hosts get us underway. Let’s go!

He also recommends an unmissable live blog.

Social media erupted with praise for Bernardo Silva after the Manchester City star gave his side the lead against Newcastle with a stunning finish, but there was questions over whether the goal should have been allowed to stand.

The Portuguese maestro produced a stunning deft touch to flick Kyle Walker‘s cross past Martin Dubravka and put Pep Guardiola‘s side in front during the first half at St James’ Park. City would then concede twice before half time.

Silva had to hook the ball from behind him with his right-foot and clipped it past his other standing leg and praise quickly flooded in for the Man City star’s glamorous strike.

READ MORE BELOW.

… that’s how long it took Newcastle to turn things around and make mincemeat of Man City’s high line.

What can you do in 139 seconds?

All three goals have been magnificent, but Isak’s confidence and cool makes this one a treat to watch.

‘It’s a good a 45 minutes as I’ve seen anywhere this season’, Ally McCoist says as the whistle blows on the first-half, and who am I to disagree?

We really have been treated at St James’ Park, and Man City falling behind can only mean more of the same in the second-half to come.

Kovacic ushers the ball forward before handing off to Doku to the left of the box. His cross in is thwarted by black and white shirts for a corner.

Dubravka storms off his line to make the save but as he punches it away, he collides with a team-mate and in a slapstick turn, the ball hits him in the face. No damage to the scoreline, however.

Guimaraes and Rodri continue to have a full and frank exchange of views after the City player has been given his card, but the game eventually restarts with Newcastle pushing for a third before the break.

Their attempts to get forward down the right, however, are hindered by Almiron straying offside.

Gordon leaps to connect with a cross from Miley, tumbling his marker in the box, but promising play from Newcastle comes to halt when Burn concedes a Man City freekick.

On the centre circle, Rodri goes down after Guimaraes stamps on his foot, and although Man City hold possession, Dias tries to bring the game to a halt.

He’s back on his feet in a moment, but play stops when Rodri gets his revenge and fells the Brazilian – picking up a yellow card for his troubles.

Just the eight minutes added.

Newcastle look to tear another strip of their guests but Isak’s final strike glances just wide. It might have been flagged offside, if it had found its mark, all told.

Prepare for a sizeable chunk of added time. The curtain won’t fall on this half in hurry.

What price excellence?

I promise I wasn’t lying – Man City really had been that good. But Newcastle have had a supernatural understanding of their chances and how to take them, and again they look to hit Man City on the counter.

Isak unlocks ferocious paces as he powers away from Walker, but this time Ortega can make the stop at close range.

But it’s a corner for the hosts. What next?

Newcastle are feasting on the champions, and it’s Anthony Gordon who is next to tuck in!

In an instant, the Magpies have wrenched momentum back from the visitors, and again they’re ruthlessly efficient as they steam down the left, Gordon untouchable as he rounds the box and unleashes to flummox Ortega.

Newcastle waste no time catching Man City on the counter, and it’s another diamond-studded goal at St James’ Park.

Guimaraes sends a sumptuous pass flying across the pitch to a running Isak, who stares down the Man City defence and floats a bending ball past Walker, Ortega, and stretches the netting.

One-way traffic no longer!

Watch it. Watch it again. And again, and again…

Newcastle aren’t cowed as they flood forward, but they will need to act fast if they don’t want to be entirely outclassed by Man City, who have been excellent.

The Magpies can’t make their attack stick, pushing the ball back to Dubravka, but the hosts get an excellent opportunity when Isak catches Ortega dallying on the ball and steams into it.

Man City lock up, but Newcastle can win a valuable corner.

That was as cute as they come – Silva’s touch is Midas-like as he waits in the box for well-weighted cross in from Walker on the right.

Off the tip of his heel, the ball speeds past the Newcastle keeper and Man City can celebrate – soundtracked by boos leftover from that wild earlier challenge.

Man City are playing an eye-wateringly high line, but when Newcastle try and sneak past, Gordon is clotheslined on the right in a feisty crunch tackle.

Sent flying into the advertising boards, the Newcastle bench is furious that no sky blue shirt has been penalised. But there’s no pause, and Man City surge forward.

Not the most exciting stat for Guardiola

Guimaraes picks up the first yellow card of the match after skittling Kovacic. The Croatian midfielder will hope to keep his leg, but he was definitely caught by the sliding Brazilian.

Newcastle may deploy more of that kind of challenge – Man City are looking supremely confident, as expected.

Man City take it short and can’t make much of it, with Walker the last man to send his strike wildly over the crossbar.

Optimistic, that hit could be called.

Quick as a flash, Man City are down the other end and have their strongest chance of the match so far, only falling victim to an inexact strike. The visitors are looking lively now, and come again with renewed force moments later.

Doku sends a whipping ball into the box, and wins a corner after some belt-and-braces defending from the hosts.

The camera shifts to De Bruyne on the bench, with the inevitable comment on his new haircut (drop the routine, Kevin) and contemplation on when Guardiola might unleash him.

With his gameplan already torn up, the Catalan manager will be unlikely to do anything reckless with his recovering player.

On the pitch, Isak is frustrated again as he goes to pick up an excellent ball from Almiron on the right just in front of the six-yard box, before he’s bullied off it.

The player fusses, but he was only unlucky.

Walker sneaks the ball forward, before handing off to Kovacic, looking to break into the box. Schar dispatches the ball well, forcing Man City back, but can’t grab hold of possession.

They try and make it pay by releasing Foden down the left, who flies into the box looking to make a vital cross, but he can only find Guimaraes’ thigh, deflecting the ball out.

What might be a little concerning for Howe is Newcastle’s failure to capitalise on those calamitous few moments before Ederson went down injured for a second time.

Now City are sitting in the Newcastle half, keen to hold onto the ball after their less-than-ideal half.

Man City’s first change is a horror one – Ederson is swapped for Ortega.

Worst case scenario for Guardiola and his keeper, who heads down the tunnel immediately.

Haram-scarum stuff for City as Ederson is moving tentatively and nearly concedes as Newcastle buzz around the box after he misplays a ball into Almiron.

When the ball moves up the pitch, Ederson goes down again and Ortega sprints back to the bench after warming up on the sidelines.

Ederson looks in real pain as the physios sprint onto the pitch and play grinds to halt.

Letting the game ‘flow’ may have come with a price.

Walker crouches by his keeper, who is gingerly helped to his feet.

Newcastle make their first significant run into the Man City box with an excellent run from Isak.

He skitters, unmanaged, into the box before handing off to Longstaff, who nets past Ederson after colliding with the keeper.

But celebration is cut short as the flag goes up! That was long offside, but the delay may trouble City… Ederson still down.

Chris Kavanagh blows the whistle as the strains of ‘Local Hero’ are replaced with the roar of the crowd, and the visitors get us underway.

… and the players are streaming out of the tunnel, where they’re hit by a sea of black and white in the stands.

Moments to go – don’t go anywhere!

They might have a combined value of £130million, but that did not stop Josko Gvardiol and Matheus Nunes acting like children when the head boy strolled into class last month.

Jeddah’s unforgiving humidity brings on a natural sweat, although for them so did the new-look Kevin De Bruyne.

Read Jack Gaughan’s report in full below.

The England star has been formidable for Man City in De Bruyne’s absence, but what does the midfielder’s return mean for him?

However, many fans will notice that there will not be any 3pm kick offs at all today. As well as that, league leaders Liverpool and Mikel Arteta‘s Arsenal will not be involved this weekend.

READ MORE BELOW.

As mentioned earlier, Man City can overleap Aston Villa with their game in hand if they clinch a win at St James’ Park.

Newcastle have been shunted down to 10th after Chelsea’ victory at Stamford Bridge – the Blues likely suffering nosebleeds from sitting as high as eighth – but could move ahead of Brighton into seventh if they can overturn the visitors.

Manchester City made a massive show of their success when they parked their five trophies on the pitch before their last Premier League game, as if to remind us this is a winning machine not to be underestimated.

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To say the former Leeds midfielder has been overlooked at the Etihad is an understatement. In an injury-hit season, Phillips has played just 318 minutes across all competitions in City colours.

Signs of a much-discussed loan move are yet to appear. Juventus were thought to be ardent suitors of the England international, who will need minutes under his belt before EURO 2024 in the summer, but the Serie A side have gone silent.

In the Premier League, it’s the Magpies who appear most interested… but City have been unwilling to let him go to a rival.

Howe’s club are said to have entered talks with the sky blue side of Manchester, but with their ability to move in the window thrown into doubt, tonight’s match could be Phillips’ last chance to step onto the turf at St James’ Park… or even watch the tie from the bench.

The clock runs down before kick-off.

We’ll be underway in just over half-an-hour.

It hasn’t been the quietest week for the England international, but he’ll look to put his business off the pitch at the back of his mind as he starts for Man City this evening.

For a primer on what exactly has been going on in Prestbury, you can read Mail Sport’s latest update below.

The Magpies have been incredibly injury-strapped – and with limited January shopping to look forward to – Howe will hope he doesn’t lose yet more men today.

I think we lose a bit of physicality, a bit of drive, a bit of steel in our midfield.

It’s a big loss for us, but (Lewis Miley) comes back into the team. He’s been so important to us, and hopefully he can still help.

On the importance of the derby win:

Yeah it was (important). We needed a win and we needed a win quickly. No better place to do it. We were much more like ourselves.

Hopefully it’s given us a little lift.

We score a lot of goals lately, and a lot of players have scored. (But) of course we miss Erling.

But Julian has made a step forward and he is doing well.

The scouts at city did a really really good job to bring him here.

The manager is succinct on whether he things City will be active in the market.

I don’t think so.

Rio Ferdinand on the mic thinks Guardiola is ‘definitely lying’. When it comes to transfers, it wouldn’t be the first time…

Just one chance for Howe today from the side that stunned the Stadium of Light last weekend, as Lewis Miley comes in for the injured Joelinton.

Guardiola has also been forced into making a change, as Jeremy Doku comes in for Jack Grealish – he’s still suffering with the Man City virus that has cut a swathe through the squad.

And there’s one more change from the side that last faced Sheffield United in the league as injured Manuel Akanji is swapped for Ruben Dias.

Erling Haaland has suffered a setback in his comeback from injury and may not return before next month.

You can read Jack Gaughan’s full report from the Etihad below.

Debate will roil on – possibly for years – as to whether the Catalan manager shot himself in the proverbial foot letting academy starboy Cole Palmer move to league rivals Chelsea.

Certainly, Blues fans were happy to have him again today, when he netted the winner in their west London derby against Fulham.

But where does he rank amongst the rest of the young England up-and-comers – including Newcastle’s own Anthony Gordon?

But no use dwelling on the past! This season’s the thing, and in September, Howe’s side blacked the eye of the Treble winners with victory at home in the Carabao Cup.

You can reminisce, if you choose, with Craig Hope’s report below.

The Magpies have won just one of their last 32 league meetings against today’s opponents. The tie came long before Newcastle could dare to dream about a Saudi takeover and challenging for a spot at the Big Six table in January 2019, when Salomon Rondon and Matt Ritchie’s contributions were enough to cancel out Sergio Aguero’s first-minute opener at St James’ Park.

Of the starting XI that featured against Guardiola’s that day, only Lascelles, Dubravka, Schar, and Sean Longstaff still feature for the club. Fans will hope their muscle memory kicks in.

Newcastle aren’t feeling very popular of late, with Eddie Howe claiming that the club has no friends and limited resources in a window when the squad could very much benefit from both.

Watch Craig Hope’s report from Newcastle’s training ground to learn why the head coach might be so down in the mouth after a dazzling 2022-23.

Pep Guardiola’s side have an ominous record in the second-half of the season, and have made a habit of turning on the after-burners to propel them to inevitable Premier League victory after a less-than-impressive start to the winter ties.

This year has been no different, and City sit off-pace in third having been hindered by injuries, suspensions, and a touch of a Treble hangover towards the end of 2023.

But victory at St James’ Park would boost them to just two points of Liverpool at the top of the table. Newcastle’s shaky form – which has seen them lose their last three league ties – plus the long-awaited return of Kevin De Bruyne likely has the Catalan rubbing his hands together at the thought of closing the gap.

Ahead of Newcastle’s clash with Manchester City, we continue our journey into the Mail Sport archives — back to a time before Middle Eastern cash turned these historic sides into two of the richest clubs in the world.

Like City, Newcastle is a club of modest beginnings.

They were founded in 1892 when rivals Newcastle East End and Newcastle West End merged in the Northern League – now the ninth tier…

READ MORE BELOW.

Hello and welcome to Mail Sport’s live coverage of Manchester City’s trip to St James’ Park to face Newcastle, with kick-off coming at 5.30pm.

Stick with us as we bring you all the team news, build-up, and more ahead of the afternoon’s showpiece Premier League tie.