Newcastle Stun Man City in Thrilling 2–1 Victory

Newcastle United produced one of their most spirited performances of the season to defeat Manchester City 2–1 at a pulsating St James’ Park only their second Premier League win over City in their last 36 meetings, and their first since 2019. Eddie Howe’s side showed grit, energy, and belief throughout a breathless encounter, with Harvey Barnes delivering a second-half brace to turn the match on its head.

The first half somehow ended scoreless despite being packed with clear-cut opportunities. Newcastle nearly capitalized within the opening 30 seconds after a poor clearance from Donnarumma gifted Barnes an early sight of goal, but the City goalkeeper recovered in time. Moments later, Haaland was sent clean through on Pope, only to mis-hit a chipped effort well wide of the target.

Chances continued to arrive at both ends. Murphy created two golden openings for Woltemade, who twice shot too close to Donnarumma from point-blank range. At the opposite end, Foden drifted into the box and curled an effort inches wide after linking up with Cherki. VAR also intervened twice, checking potential penalties first for a Schär challenge on Foden, then for a possible handball against Thiaw but neither incident resulted in a spot kick.

Despite the 0–0 scoreline, the expected goals total reflected the chaos: Newcastle registered 1.18 xG, while City posted 1.41, making it the most chances recorded in a goalless Premier League first half since data collection began.

The match exploded after the break. Newcastle struck first in the 63rd minute when Bruno Guimarães lunged to regain possession on the edge of the area, nudging the ball into the path of Barnes. With composure and precision, the winger drilled a low strike into the bottom-left corner to send the home crowd into uproar.

City responded quickly. In the 68th minute, Newcastle failed to clear a corner, and amid a scramble, Ruben Dias fired from 15 yards. A heavy deflection off Schär wrong-footed Pope, bringing the champions level at 1–1.

But the drama was far from over. Newcastle restored their lead in the 70th minute after two successive corners kept City pinned back. Tonali’s delivery caused chaos again, Woltemade headed the ball across goal, and Guimarães’ looping header struck the bar. Barnes reacted fastest, calmly slotting the rebound past Donnarumma for his second of the match. A lengthy VAR check reviewed a possible offside, but the goal was ultimately confirmed to the delight of the home support.

City pushed relentlessly for another equaliser, but Newcastle defended bravely and countered with purpose. Donnarumma was forced into action once more to deny Woltemade, while Foden and Doku tried to break through a resilient back line. Yet the hosts held firm through eight minutes of added time to secure a famous victory.

For Howe, the victory finally ends an 18-match Premier League winless run against Guardiola and provides a timely morale boost ahead of their Champions League trip to Marseille. City, meanwhile, miss the chance to climb into second and must regroup quickly before hosting Bayer Leverkusen on Tuesday.