After five seconds, Jonjo Shelvey tried to score from near the halfway line. Ederson saved the Newcastle United midfielder’s ambitious effort with ease, however, and so it began, with Manchester City’s goalkeeper having to wait another 14 minutes before touching the ball again. One of his team-mates had passed it back to him, presumably just to make sure that the Brazilian had not nipped to the away dressing room to check the sound system.
The home fans had a different view, sensing that a minor victory had been achieved, urging their rattled players to keep pressing and running and hassling the Premier League’s dominant force. City, however, simply kept playing their enchanting football throughout their 1-0 victory at St James’s Park, pushing the home side back so much that at times Newcastle were in danger of retreating into the back rows of the Gallowgate end. It spoke volumes that Pep Guardiola’s response to seeing Vincent Kompany pull up with a calf injury in the 11th minute was to replace the centre-back with another attacker.
Gabriel Jesus came on for Kompany, who looked distraught after sustaining the latest in a long line of muscle injuries, and City’s threat showed no sign of diminishing. The only surprise was that they needed 31 minutes to find a way through, not that there was any doubt that Guardiola’s team would extend their advantage over Manchester United to a staggering 15 points and earn their 18th consecutive victory once Kevin de Bruyne had created Raheem Sterling’s goal with another magnificent assist.
After United’s 2-2 draw with Burnley on Boxing Day, José Mourinho found himself in the unfortunate position of needing a favour from one of his old enemies. Yet Rafael Benítez was under no illusions. Many of the greatest moments of Benítez’s career have stemmed from his ability to suffocate glamorous opponents, but Newcastle’s manager knew who he was facing. “You can prepare the best tactics in the world,” Benítez said before kick-off. “And you can still lose.”
The home fans had a different view, sensing that a minor victory had been achieved, urging their rattled players to keep pressing and running and hassling the Premier League’s dominant force. City, however, simply kept playing their enchanting football throughout their 1-0 victory at St James’s Park, pushing the home side back so much that at times Newcastle were in danger of retreating into the back rows of the Gallowgate end. It spoke volumes that Pep Guardiola’s response to seeing Vincent Kompany pull up with a calf injury in the 11th minute was to replace the centre-back with another attacker.
Gabriel Jesus came on for Kompany, who looked distraught after sustaining the latest in a long line of muscle injuries, and City’s threat showed no sign of diminishing. The only surprise was that they needed 31 minutes to find a way through, not that there was any doubt that Guardiola’s team would extend their advantage over Manchester United to a staggering 15 points and earn their 18th consecutive victory once Kevin de Bruyne had created Raheem Sterling’s goal with another magnificent assist.
After United’s 2-2 draw with Burnley on Boxing Day, José Mourinho found himself in the unfortunate position of needing a favour from one of his old enemies. Yet Rafael Benítez was under no illusions. Many of the greatest moments of Benítez’s career have stemmed from his ability to suffocate glamorous opponents, but Newcastle’s manager knew who he was facing. “You can prepare the best tactics in the world,” Benítez said before kick-off. “And you can still lose.”
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