Manchester City Slump to Defeat at Newcastle United
By David Crook
After 24 seconds in this match Sergio Aguero had put Manchester City ahead and it seemed as though Newcastle United could have been on the receiving end of a hammering. But then things changed, the packed Newcastle midfield stifled the City play and our misplaced passes were punished. The first half dwindled away in a game where no one seemed to be playing at full intensity.
There were moments of course for City to have extended their lead. Most notably when Aguero turned in a quick free kick from Kevin De Bruyne. This marvellous piece of quick thinking was punished twice by the referee, firstly when he disallowed the goal and secondly when he booked De Bruyne.
This was one of those moments where we could all shake our heads in unison and acknowledge the game has gone. Indeed, the tin hatted conspiracy theorists amongst us may well point to the decision as further evidence of the continuing FA campaign to undermine City’s title defence.
The second half started brightly for City as they seemed intent on looking for a second goal and Raheem Sterling had the best opportunity when confronted with an excellent cross from Leroy Sane, but he missed the chance. As the game went on it was obvious that Newcastle began to grow in confidence. Each foray into the City half seemed to have more purpose and belief.
Kevin De Bruyne played another trademark killer pass, the kind which only he can see, which released David Silva who hit his shot straight at the Newcastle keeper. The failure to take our chances has cost us in a number of games so far and Newcastle made their pressure count and turned in a scrappy header to equalise. Suddenly this was a different game again.
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Newcastle continued to hustle and bustle and were rewarded with a penalty for a foul by Fernandinho. The penalty was well dispatched by Ritchie under considerable pressure and City were left with ten minutes on the clock to try to salvage the game.
They tried and pressed but chasing the goal when only a win would do ultimately saw the game peter out.
There will be further turns and twists in the title race before the season is over, but this was a big defeat which at least may take some of the pressure off in the games against Arsenal and Chelsea.
In the grand scheme of defeats I have seen City suffer this one hardly registered. It was something like the first Newcastle win against City in 14 attempts and law of averages alone suggested that result would come. It was one of those games where we could have continued playing for another half an hour and the result would not have changed.
But none of that should take away from Newcastle who played well and on balance deserved their victory. City have a few days to recover and prepare for their next test. At this stage of the season at least the games come thick and fast so there are opportunities to quickly bounce back.