Manchester City were unimpressive in win over Newcastle

Rafa Benitez, the manager of Newcastle is renowned for tinkering with his team tactics to achieve results.

In recent weeks in the Premier League he has received criticism from pundits regarding how defensively his team has set out but today he resisted any temptation and there was no further tactical tinkering.

I was frustrated initially by the approach employed by Newcastle. They had 10 tall players behind the ball. They hoofed it long and wanted to turn every ball into an aerial challenge. In the opening half an hour rather than thinking Benitez was some kind of genius I was left thinking I was watching 1990s Cambridge United under the stewardship of John Beck.

Following the game I reflected on the approach by Newcastle and am now less critical. I think with the players they have they played well. They seemed tight and worked well together. They gave their all and there is not much more to say. As a fan I understand how important it is to get points on the board but I’m not sure how content I would be to watch that kind of performance every week.

Defensive from the outset

Newcastle employed 10 men in defence without the ball, and used Solomon Rondon as a lone striker. Rondon is a good player at this level and has caused us problems when he was at West Brom.

He can hold the ball up under pressure and link up with the willing runners in any counter attack. For virtually the whole match Rondon was closely marked by John Stones who had Rondon in his pocket bar a single moment late in the first half. At that point Rondon held the ball well, linked the play and created a goal.

But it’s unfair to blame John Stones for that. The defence was wrong footed but the mistake arose in midfield. Fernandinho lost possession high up the pitch. Mendy was out of position and Newcastle found the net. One attack, one shot on goal. One goal.

City handle Newcastle’s tactics

We all know this is how typical City works. A few seasons ago under Pellegrini we almost had to concede first in order to get the players to play. But Guardiola has changed that. There is more belief in this side now.

Manchester City had taken the lead in the 7th minute through an exceptionally well taken goal by Raheem Sterling. Sterling was released by Mendy and cut inside, having the confidence to curl the ball past the keepers out stretched hand. In a blue shirt with an appreciative crowd Sterling has the confidence to try this kind of shot. He will be sorely missed In our team if he does move on.

City started the game with a tweaked formation. 4 men in defence and 2 strikers with 2 wide wingers meant there were just 2 men in midfield. These two midfielders, David Silva and Fernandinho had their work cut out today.

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Whether Newcastle altered their approach after seeing our team sheet we will never know. However throughout the game our two-man midfield were overrun. We lost the second ball on many occasions. Every time we lost possession there was limited cover, exposing our defence.

It was lucky for us that Newcastle threatened so little. And when they did hoof the ball long and high, Stones and others dealt with the incursion. There is a growing confidence in our back line. I think I prefer the partnership of Stones and Aymeric Laporte in our central defence as we seem pretty solid and play the ball out from the back well.

We went into the half time break at 1-1. But we looked comfortable in possession. There had been a couple of chances to add another goal in the first half but Aguero missed the goal with a rasping shot and Jesus tamely hit their keeper when through on goal.

After halftime City emerged with more drive but still they laboured to find a way through the massed ranks of Newcastle defenders. Too often Mahrez and Sterling were crowded out by overlapping runs from our own full backs. Mahrez is still to settle in a City shirt. He is snatching at his chances and seems unwilling to take on a defender. He will need to manage the step up from Leicester in the coming months and to relax.

David Silva produced another industrious display and in the absence of Kevin de Bruyne we rely upon his quick thinking to turn the play. Today he ran out of steam in our midfield.

The winning goal came from a bit of good combination play between Aguero, Sterling and Benjamin Mendy before the ball was played across to Kyle Walker about 35 yards from goal. Someone in the crowd behind me shouted shoot and Walker did. He hit a lovely piledriver into the goal. Struck hard and straight the ball somehow found it’s way past the Newcastle defence. A great goal.

We made some tactical changes in the second half as we dropped Jesus to the bench and brought on Bernardo Silva. The extra man in midfield made us look more solid. He is becoming a real crowd favourite and I hope he gets more minutes in the next game.

In the final minutes we even brought Kompany on to mark his 10th anniversary since joining. Newcastle though offered little threat beyond the long ball. Inexplicably Benitez took off Rondon and their ability to contest those long balls disappeared. Their best runner Ayoz Perez visibly tired in the second half. Their supporters quietened and we all watched the clock until the game was up.

So our title defence is 4 games in and we have 3 wins and a draw without hitting top gear or playing well. That should be ominous to all of the other teams because I expect when we return after the international break we will be much better.