Key stats
- Newcastle have beaten Man City for the first time in the Premier League since 29th January 2019, a run of 12 games without a win.
- Erling Haaland had five shots without finding the net in this game, last having as many without scoring for Man City in November 2024 v Tottenham (seven shots, 0 goals).
- The first half saw seven big chances (four Newcastle, three Man City) and 2.59 xG (1.18 Newcastle, 1.41 Man City). It's the most big chances on record (from 2010-11) and second-highest non-pen xG on record (from 2012-13) in a goalless Premier League first half.
Highlights
Analysis
Man of the Match Harvey Barnes shone for Newcastle and received the highest Flashscore rating of the game. He also became the first Newcastle player to score twice in a Premier League game against Man City since Alan Shearer in November 2003, with this match being their 40th meeting in the competition since then.
Match report
Despite ceding the lion’s share of possession to Man City throughout the first half, Newcastle looked happy to defend with a focus on exploiting the space available on the counter-attack in an entertaining first half.
Jacob Murphy created the first clear-cut chance of the game as his inswinging cross perfectly picked out Nick Woltemade, but the German’s header was straight at Gianluigi Donnarumma, allowing the Italian keeper to make a sharp reflex save.
Jérémy Doku was a threat throughout the half as his passes consistently penetrated the Magpie’s defence, and it took a wild last-ditch lunge from Fabian Schär to deny Phil Foden.
The home side should’ve led just after the half-hour mark when Harvey Barnes somehow missed a tap-in at the far post following another fine cross from Murphy, although replays suggested he may have been offside anyway.
City ought to have punished that miss just before HT to take a precious lead into the interval, but Foden side-footed wide of the target from a great position after a slick one-two with Rayan Cherki sliced the Newcastle defence wide open.
After a pulsating first half, both sides were limited in attack after the restart, but the game burst into life just after the hour mark with the opening goal. A quick break from the hosts saw Bruno Guimarães guide the ball into the path of Barnes, and he produced a pinpoint finish from the edge of the area to find the bottom corner.
Having seen Barnes open the scoring in an eventual defeat to Brentford before the international break, the Toon Army were left with a familiar sinking feeling when parity was restored just five minutes later by Rúben Dias, who took advantage of a loose ball in the box to scramble an equaliser past Nick Pope.
City barely had a moment to catch their breath before they immediately fell behind again however, as Barnes pounced to finish from close range after Guimarães’ had come back off the bar, with the goal surviving an incredibly lengthy VAR check.
City proceeded to dominate the ball from then on, but the Newcastle rearguard stood firm to hold onto three points which move them up to 14th and provides Eddie Howe with his first-ever PL win against City. The visitors stay third after another uninspiring performance on the road in the league, with their six such trips this term producing just two wins.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Harvey Barnes (Newcastle United)
Click here to see all the stats of the match.
Post-match reaction
Harvey Barnes told Sky Sports: "Big result for us, one that we definitely needed off the back of a few poor results.
"A few big chances missed - myself to blame for that in the first half - but second half came out firing again and we got the three points.
"You've got to move on - if you dwell on (past mistakes) it'll affect you the whole game. If you move on, there'll be glory at the end of it, like there was today."
Man City manager Pep Guardiola told Sky Sports: "Tight game, chances and an entertaining game. But in the end they scored two goals and won.
"In general we were really good. We had chances and the momentum in the second half was much much better, just a little bit we could not finish."