Newcastle United 0-4 Manchester City : Riyad Mahrez hits 50 as City drown the Magpies at St James’ Park

NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 19: Ruben Dias of Manchester City celebrates after scoring a goal to make it 0-1 during the Premier League match between Newcastle United and Manchester City at St. James Park on December 19, 2021 in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. (Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images)
NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 19: Ruben Dias of Manchester City celebrates after scoring a goal to make it 0-1 during the Premier League match between Newcastle United and Manchester City at St. James Park on December 19, 2021 in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. (Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images)

Manchester City were again the talk of the town on Sunday as they lit up the stage with yet another dominant performance in the Premier League. Away from home, the defending champions put four past Eddie Howe’s Newcastle United and hence were able to maintain control over the top spot in the current Championship table.

Manchester City double their lead in the first 45 mins

City are best known for their ability to keep a major chunk of their possession, and on Sunday, the visitors were yet again in full control of the ball. Ruben Dias was the first man to breach the Newcastle backline after being provided with a neat cross by teammate Joao Cancelo, which was later headed back into the post.

Cancelo, too, joined the scoring list as the Portuguese international blasted his shot from outside the box into the top left corner of the net to make it 2-0 in favour of the visitors. On the other hand, the hosts did try to stitch in some good runs in their attacking half but were unable to trouble Ederson with their ‘lacklustre’ finishing.

Manchester City add two more in the latter half

With a 2-0 lead over the Magpies, City were already in the driving seat of this game. Riyad Mahrez added a goal to his tally just after the hour mark after being handed a good pass by Oleksandr Zinchenko, which was struck sweetly past the Newcastle no.1.With this strike, the Algerian winger now has reached  50 goals in the City shirt.

Guardiola’s side did manage to sneak in a fourth goal after Raheem Sterling was beautifully set up by Gabriel Jesus and was later slotted back home by the English forward.

In the end, it was another strong all-round performance from the Citizens as they comfortably piled up four goals against an underwhelming Magpies side.

Currently, Manchester City are leading the points table with 44 points and are now four points clear of second-placed Liverpool, who dropped points on Sunday after a 2-2 draw against Tottenham Hotspur.