No interview with Pep, who is presumably fuming.Never mind, because Louise Taylor’s report has landed. Here’s her verdict; click and enjoy. And thanks for reading this MBM.
Steve Bruce talks to BT Sport.“We were terrific in their work and attitude. It’s always going to be difficult. And you need your keeper to make a few saves. And then you need that resilience, because the way they move the ball, they’re a fantastic team. The defensive organization is key. We’d love to be a bit more fancy going the other way, but for what we’ve got at the moment, it suits us. The front three, even though they don’t score, they carry a threat. We have to be better and more clinical, but we’ve scored a couple of wonderful goals. We’ve now got a big game against Sheffield United, so we’ll get ready for that. ”
Newcastle move up to 12 th place, on 16 points, and are now six unbeaten at St James’ Park.Whisper it, but the initially unpopular Steve Bruce is doing a fine job. He’ll be winning the Toon Army over at this rate. City meanwhile move into second, ahead of Leicester on goal difference. But they’ll be back down to third tomorrow if Leicester City avoid defeat at home to Everton … and more importantly, they only managed to close the gap on leaders Liverpool by one point. Should Liverpool beat Brighton at Anfield later this afternoon, that gap will be 11 points. No wonder Pep Guardiola disappeared down the tunnel quicksmart, with a look of concern on his face.
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Jonjo Shelvey, who has just done his old club a favorite, speaks to BT Sport:“We thought we deserved a point. They keep the ball so well and move it about, but a point is probably a fair result in the end. Against them, it’s always going to be difficult. We needed to bounce back after Monday night, and to give a good account of ourselves shows we’ve got a bit of spirit about us. I might be a hero in Liverpool right now! But no, this is about us, and we need to get as many points on the board as possible to guarantee safety at this football club. ”
FULL TIME: Newcastle United 2-2 Manchester City
Updated (at 9.) am EST
90 min 4:De Bruyne nearly breaks clear down the left, but Fernandez holds firm. Newcastle are hanging on.
90 min 3:City can’t get anything going, and time is running out.
90 min 2:De Bruyne glides in from the left and curls a glorious cross towards Sterling, in space just to the right of goal in the box. Sterling shoots, but doesn’t really catch it. Dubravka gathers brilliantly, with Silva waiting to tap anything loose into the net. What a chance!
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(min 1:The first of four added minutes goes by without incident.
90 min:Two sensational goals. City need to go again for a winner. De Bruyne hooks a free kick into the box from the left. It’s sent out for a throw on the right. In the stand, a Newcastle fan in a Peaky Blinders cap refuses to hand the ball back to City in the pantomime style. Eventually he flings it back into the field of play, and sits down looking extremely pleased with his afternoon’s work.
GOAL! Newcastle United 2-2 Manchester City (Shelvey 88)
No, Newcastle aren’t spent at all! And anything Kevin De Bruyne can do, Jonjo Shelvey can match! Atsu pulls the free kick back to Shelvey, 25 yards out, just to the right of center. Shelvey keeps his head down, and launches a stunning first-time shot into the top left! Ederson had no chance whatsoever!
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87 min:Or do they? Manquillo romps down the right and is cynically barged to the floor by Fernandinho, already on a yellow. No second card, but it is a free kick, just to the right of the area.
86 min:Mendy wins a corner off Manquillo down the left. De Bruyne takes. The ball drops to Fernandinho, on the edge of the area. He whistles a volley inches over the bar. Newcastle, having fought so hard for so long, suddenly look spent.
84 min:Pep immediately goes into keep-what -we-have mode. Rodri comes on for Jesus.
83 min:Newcastle will argue that Gayle was shoved to the floor by Bernardo Silva in the build-up. They might have a point; they might not. One of those, really. Either way, take nothing from the strike. What a goal by De Bruyne! City’s star man stepping up to the plate, just when things were getting a little desperate. Seems it’s not only Liverpool who can pop up with the important late goals!
GOAL! Newcastle United 1-2 Manchester City (De Bruyne 82)
What a goal this is! De Bruyne chests down a clearing header, lets the ball drop, and launches a heatseeker into the top left from the edge of the box! That was an absolute stunner! Kompanyesque!
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81 min:Saint-Maximin has hurt himself with that gymnastic display. He’s replaced by Atsu.
79 min:Shelvey loops a long ball down the inside left. Saint-Maximin goes haring after it. He’s in a footrace with Walker, who heads back to Ederson and shoulder-charges Saint-Maximin off the ball. Saint-Maximin executes an Olympic-standard quadruple roll, but he’s not getting the penalty he wants.
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77 min:Foden tees up De Bruyne, 25 yards out. De Bruyne drops a shoulder and shoots, but Clark throws his body in the road and that’s a corner. Stones meets the corner but stumbles in doing so, the ball harmlessly clanking out for a goal kick.
75 min:Almiron knocks the ball past Mendy and tears off after it. He’s cynically charged out of play by Mendy, who isn’t looking at the ball at all. But Newcastle don’t get the decision, and soon Sterling is running at them down the left. He wins a corner, which thankfully for those who get easily bored by confected controversy, comes to nothing.
73 min:Manquillo is booked for taking his own sweet time over a throw.
72 min:Walker storms down the right and hooks into the box for Foden, who mistimes a downward header from eight yards. Newcastle hack clear. City come again, and after some bagatelle on the edge of the box, the ball breaks to Bernardo Silva, free on the penalty spot! Silva drags his first-time shot wide right, a dismal effort.
70 min:Pep has seen enough. He makes a double sub, taking off Riyad Mahrez and David Silva and sending on Bernardo Silva and Phil Foden. Newcastle meanwhile swap Joelinton for Dwight Gayle.
68 min:They’re stepping it up now. A few passes pinged around. Silva suddenly slips a pass down the inside left to release Jesus into the box. Jesus should score, but Dubravka shapes like a star and blocks brilliantly. De Bruyne follows up, smashing the rebound goalwards, but that one’s stopped by the keeper too! The resulting corner comes to nothing, and Newcastle breathe again.
67 min:Much better from City, as Walker finds De Bruyne down the right. He storms towards the byline and bashes across the face of goal, where Jesus lurks. But Dubravka kicks clear. The closest the champions have come to opening Newcastle up in quite a while.
66 min:Saint-Maximin drops a shoulder and makes his way past Walker on the left. He crosses low, hoping to find Joelinton, but Fernandinho is well placed and not having it.
65 min:Jesus and Sterling one-two cutely down the middle, and nearly open up Newcastle just inside the box. But Manquillo slides in to block, and the ball rolls harmlessly through to Dubravka.
64 min:Mendy, out on the left, blooters a cross out of play on the right, with plenty of City players standing in threatening positions in the box. On the touchline, Guardiola prowls around, a frown creasing his brow. Plenty to think about here. Dubravka hasn’t had too many saves to make today.
Updated (at 9.) am EST
(min:) Manquillo drives down a cul-de-sac on the right. It had been a promising attack, with Almiron in close attendance, but City close it down. Newcastle are predominantly a defensive concern today, but they’re looking to attack wherever possible.
(min:“Come on City,” their fans chant. They know their side, already trailing Liverpool by nine points, can’t afford to drop a couple more today.
58 min:Almiron drives in from the right and tries a curler towards the top left. Miles off. A desperate attempt, in more ways than one. He’s yet to score for Newcastle; there’s a big weight on his shoulders.
57 min :Silva dribbles down the inside left, reaches the byline, and stands one up to the far post. Jesus tries to bundle it in, but he can’t quite reach it. Goal kick, though Dubravka was worried for a second there.
56 min:Sterling dribbles down the left with great panache, but he’s crowded out, and the ball squirts through to Dubravka.
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55 min:De Bruyne eases infield from the left, and batters a rising shot towards the top right. Had it been on target, the net was coming off the frame of the goal, and the goal of the season competition would be over. As it was, a fine effort jets high and wide, but not by much at all.
54 min:Shelvey drags an overly ambitious free kick wide left. Ederson yawns.
53 min:Fernandez channels his inner Franz, stepping up from the back in an extremely statesmanlike style. A sensational Beckenbaueresque run, and suddenly Newcastle are on the break! Fernandez makes it past a few challenges, enters the City half, and rolls a ball down the middle for Joelinton, who is cynically brought down by Fernandinho before he can power towards goal. Fernandinho is booked, and it’s a free kick in a central position, 30 yards out.
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51 min:De Bruyne glides down the right and nearly finds Jesus in the middle. Just a corner. From the set piece, Mendy crashes a shot goalwards. It pinballs around, and slaps a Newcastle player on the arm. City claim for a penalty but they’re never getting one for that.
50 min:Saint-Maximin raises the volume again, skipping down the left in a very elegant fashion. He crosses to nobody in particular. Mercurial doesn’t begin to cover it.
49 min:Walker slides a pass down the right channel for Jesus, who threatens to spin Dummett on the edge of the box. But before he can execute the skill, the flag goes up. He’d come back from an offside position.
47 min:Newcastle appear to be similarly minded, though. Almiron busies himself down the right, flicking the ball from a tight spot to Joelinton with no little skill. The move peters out and that’ll be a goal kick, but the hosts have now made a statement of intent too.
City – kept waiting on the pitch awhile by the hosts – finally get the second half underway.Neither side have made a half-time change. While City were left hanging around, Pep took the opportunity to remind David Silva to raise the tempo. City were uncharacteristically ponderous in the first half. And Mendy’s on the charge immediately, racing down the left and whipping in a cross. No success this time, but there’s a statement of intent.
Half-time entertainment …courtesy of Sunderland’s favorite son. You’re welcome.
HALF TIME: Newcastle United 1-1 Manchester City
De Bruyne shoots from the edge of the box. The ball’s blocked, and loops into the air. Dubravka plucks it from the sky, and that’s your lot for the first half. The hosts troop off, pleased with their work. City look a little pensive. No doubt they’ll come out flying in 15 minutes.
45 min:Hayden crosses from a deep position on the right. Stones ’clearing header is dreadful, falling straight to Almiron, just inside the box on the left. Almiron, yet to score for his new club, drops a shoulder, shifts the ball to the right … but instead of shooting, loses control haplessly. Confidence in short supply.
43 min:Shelvey wins a 50 – 50 ball in the center circle and feeds Joelinton, who hooks wide left for Almiron. A lot of grass ahead of him. Almiron looks up, sees there’s nobody in the box for him to find, and sends the ball in there anyway. A waste of a decent position. Very poor.
42 min:Mahrez makes himself a bit of space on the right, but his chipped cross has way too much weight, and sails over the heads of everyone in the box. In the dugout, Pep looks pained as he gulps enigmatically on a bottle of water.
40 min:It’s attack versus defense again. Sterling sails down the left, cuts infield and crosses. Clark clears with a textbook diving header. Keith Houchen would be proud. But Joelinton, the only Newcastle player upfield, can’t hold the ball up to bring a team-mate into play. The ball’s coming straight back at the hosts, again and again.
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38 min:Gundogan attempts to release Jesus down the inside-right channel with an incisive diagonal pass. But the ball’s too heavy, and sails out for a goal kick. Gundogan claims for a deflection and a corner, but the flag’s gone up for offside anyway. A little bit of City frustration leaking out.
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