Manchester City were held to a 1-1 draw by Newcastle on Saturday afternoon.
Josko Gvardiol opened the scoring for City, receiving the ball inside the penalty area before curling his strike beyond Nick Pope to silence the St James’ Park crowd in the 35th minute.
Newcastle managed to prevent City from building on that momentum though, and they then equalised from the penalty spot in the 58th minute through Antony Gordon after the winger was brought down by Ederson. Express Sport takes a look at five key talking points from the clash…
Erling Haaland relief
Although Haaland was unable to add to his goal tally on Tyneside, Pep Guardiola will have been relieved to have seen the Norway international last the full 90 minutes. The striker appeared to have sustained an Achilles problem after a few firm challenges in the first half, with Phil Foden even warming up as a precaution. Haaland re-emerged for the second half though and did not to be troubled by the prior concern.
Akanji emerges as Rodri replacement
Rodri’s ACL injury has been the Premier League’s main talking point this week, as well as how City will replace the Spaniard. Versatile star Rico Lewis appeared to be the first player tasked with filling the void left by his teammate, but it was actually Manuel Akanji who stepped into the role. The defender inverted to play alongside Mateo Kovacic when City had possession, dictating the tempo of attacks and also ensuring that Guardiola’s side did not lack a physical presence centrally.
Rico Lewis the facilitator
With Guardiola identifying that he would need a defender to provide the physical presence in midfield his team will lack without Rodri, starting Lewis facilitated exactly that. The England international often deployed areas of the pitch that you would expect a No.10 to play in, ensuring that Newcastle were pinned very deep inside their own half and opening up space for Akanji to step into. The versatile defender could be the key to unlocking a new-look City side.
Gordon gets his season back on track
With Alexander Isak and Callum Wilson both sidelined with injured, Gordon was tasked with leading the line for Newcastle. The England international has endured a slow start to the season, but with a contract extension now close to being sealed, those troubles appear to be behind him and his focus is back on the pitch. The 23-year-old stretched the City backline with his frightening pace and showed good composure to win the penalty when racing through on goal.
Newcastle emerge with plenty of credit
Eddie Howe will be very pleased with how his side played against the title holders, especially without his two main strikers. Newcastle’s pace and energy on the counter-attack caused City plenty of issues, with Harvey Barnes and Jacob Murphy stretching the pitch to ensure that Joelinton and Bruno Guimaraes had space to drive into when turning over possession. Sandro Tonali also provided a glimpse of how is likely to have been the missing piece of the puzzle in midfield for the Magpies previously.
