Man City 2 Newcastle 0: Foden scores stunner before Bernardo Silva seals win as champions keep up pressure on Arsenal
BERNARDO SILVA came up with a grandstand finish to kill off the Toon and send City back within two points of Arsenal - if only for a few hours at least.
Silva’s match-clinching strike clinched a victory for Pep Guardiola’s men – and was City’s 1000th Premier League goal at home.
The first 160 came at their former Maine Road ground, the rest since the lift off which has come from their time at the Etihad.
Yet if Newcastle had a striker with anything like the potency of Guardiola’s forward line, the Toon would have left Manchester with at least a point.
Calum Wilson blew a golden first half chance, Joelinton an even better second half one, with a side-footed air-shot from bang in front when it looked easier to score.
And it took a triple block from first Ruben Dias, Nathan Ake and finally keeper Ederson to deny sub Alexander Isak when the lead was just a solitary goal.
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That came courtesy of Phil Foden’s marvellous 15th minute effort, created initially by Rodri’s magnificent crossfield pass.
Foden killed the ball and skipped past Dan Burn – as he did pretty much at will all afternoon – before storming into the box.
First Bruno Guimaraes and then Anthony Gordon were shrugged off with effortless ease, before he let fly with a right footed strike.
Nick Pope would probably have blocked it, yet it clipped off Sven Botman and left the Toon keeper – back from last week’s Wembley ban – without a prayer.
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Erling Haaland then fluffed a point blank header, but amazingly it was Newcastle who began to dominate in terms of chances at least.
Yet when Bernardo came off the bench and finished off a neat move involving Ake, Foden, Jack Grealish and Haaland, there was no way back.
Tempers frayed, frustrations grew and Burn – eventually hooked – was lucky only to see yellow when he appeared to aim a sly foot at the prone Grealish after initially upending him.
Players on both sides waded in, and the thought of two giants in Haaland and Burn getting to grips was frankly more mouthwatering than the match itself.
In the end, though, it petered out into nothing. Rather like Newcastle’s hopes did, in fact.
As for Man City? Well it’s over to you Arsenal…
