Manchester City maintained their grip on Premier League leaders Arsenal with a 2-0 win against Newcastle United on Saturday.
Following the FA Cup victory in midweek, Citizens boss Pep Guardiola called up Erling Haaland, Jack Grealish, and Ilkay Gündogan, while the Magpies boosted from the arrival of first-choice goalkeeper Nick Pope.
In the opening seconds, German Ilkay Gundogan had a wonderful opportunity to give the home the lead with a rising header from a floated ball in the area, but he failed to strike the target.
After 15 minutes, Phil Foden sprinted in-field from the right side of the area and pulled goal-side from a tight angle to tuck over the approaching Pope, giving City the lead.
City dominated after taking the lead, and the Newcastle struggled to cross the halfway line due to the title-chasing City’ swift possession turnovers.
Minutes before halftime, the Magpies threatened with a ball in from Kieran Trippier, but Callum Wilson mis-timed his shot and missed the target.
Former Aston Villa player Jack Grealish looked to add to the visitors’ problems with a curler from outside the box, but the effort went wide.
Newcastle’s attempt to claw their way back resulted in the introduction of Alexander Isak for Wilson, before Gordon was replaced by Allan Saint-Maximin.
After weathering a few pressure periods, City added a second with 20 minutes remaining when Bernardo Silva dropped space in the area and Erling Haaland guided in a pass on the edge of the box.
The Magpies didn’t give up and grabbed a late chance from a low free-kick from 30 yards out, but Trippier couldn’t beat Ederson Moraes, leaving City with a 2-0 win and still in hunt for the top spot.
