In a shocking turn of events, Newcastle United forced a tie with reigning Premier League title holders, Manchester City, concluding the game with a 1-1 score. Anthony Gordon, who recently made his intentions of renewing his contract public, succeeded in pulling off a successful penalty after being knocked over by the rival goalkeeper, Ederson. This equalised the early goal from Josko Gvardiol in the first half, and the game came to a close with 52,248 spectators present at St James’ Park.
Manchester City, despite being bereft of injured midfielder Rodri, began the match assertively. However, just like last week, they could gain no more than a point after getting an early lead. Mateo Kovacic stepped in to fill for the absent Spanish midfielder, and Manchester City started on a positive note with attempts on goals from Manuel Akanji and Erling Haaland, abetted by Ilkay Gündogan.
The Newcastle tactic was mainly to hold back and capitalise on counterattacks against Manchester City. However, opportunities to exploit this tactic were scanty. A courageous block from Jack Grealish in the 15th minute prevented a shot on the goal by Kieran Trippier, set up by Bruno Guimaraes and Gordon. The latter was filling the void left by injured striker Alexander Isak as a centre forward.
The match grew increasingly disorganised and rough. Trippier had to make an impressive challenge to keep Erling Haaland from capitalising on Bernardo Silva’s cross at the last post in the 28th minute. Manchester City finally managed to get ahead around 35 minutes into the game when Grealish got past old England colleague Trippier to find full-back Gvardiol. Gvardiol dodged Dan Burn and managed to score, with a bit of help from a minor deflection off Sandro Tonali, who was making his first league appearance since October.
The goalie for The Magpies escaped a sticky situation after mishitting a pass just as he was retreating from Gündogan’s chipped ball aimed right at him. However, it was his counterpart, Ederson, who shone in extra time, guarding the goalpost against a powerful shot from Joelinton, following Burn’s deflection on a free-kick by Trippier.
Newcastle found themselves on the edge as the second half commenced. Silva missed a golden opportunity from Rico Lewis’s spontaneous pass, exploiting the space created by Lewis Hall’s upfront move. Although Schär managed a riveting header towards Ederson’s goal, the visitors held the majority of the control.
A twist in the tale arrived 58 minutes into the match. Gordon was fouled by Ederson, but got back up to misdirect the goalie from the penalty spot, courtesy of Guimaraes’s initial pass. For the first time, the visitors’ defensive line had to face an onslaught. Gordon could have done more with a cross to Harvey Barnes in the 64th minute, but unfortunately, Barnes had his task cut out at the far post.
Pope and Ederson were kept busy in goal. Pope managed to block Haaland, who was looking to bypass him, and was then glad to catch a quick shot from substitute Phil Foden. Ederson had a close call with Sean Longstaff, a substitute who misdirected a shot with nine minutes to spare.
A spectacular save from Silva’s volley saved the day, and despite Haaland’s late header, it didn’t cause the goalie any distress.