Arsenal’s draw with Wolverhampton Wanderers in midweek opened the door for Man City to close the gap at the top to just two points, and Pep Guardiola’s men grasped that opportunity on Saturday.
Nico O’Reilly grabbed both of their goals in a thrilling first half, opening the scoring in the 14th minute with a venomous strike.
Lewis Hall hauled Newcastle level in the 22nd minute, but O’Reilly nudged the hosts back ahead with a brilliant header. It was a lead the hosts would not relinquish.
Guardiola’s side are gaining ground on the Gunners, ahead of the north London derby on Sunday, while Newcastle stay 10th.
How the match unfolded
Omar Marmoush scored against Newcastle in the EFL Cup earlier this month, and he turned provider for another early goal this time around, as he charged forward and fed O’Reilly, whose first-time finish had too much power for Nick Pope.
Yet City’s lead was short-lived, and after Anthony Gordon drew a smart stop out of Gianluigi Donnarumma, the Italian was beaten when Hall’s deflected effort found the bottom corner.
Parity lasted only five minutes. Erling Haaland stood up a right-wing cross to the far post, and O’Reilly sent a towering header back into the far corner.
Dan Burn headed in from an offside position as Newcastle kept up their attacking threat prior to the break, while Hall sent a free-kick wide at the start of the second half.
Antoine Semenyo failed to generate enough power on a shot to truly test Pope just after the hour, before Rayan Ait-Nouri squandered a golden chance to play Haaland through on goal.
Pope pulled off smart saves to thwart Haaland and Phil Foden late on, but City’s failure to add a third ultimately did not cost them, despite a late Newcastle flurry.
*EPL*
