Gamethread: Newcastle 3-4 Manchester City - Final

Post-Game reaction

What a game. End to end in the first half. Manchester City with a masterclass in possession, but Newcastle holding their own with a huge defensive effort and a fantastic display of counter-attacking football.

Cracking game for the neutral, disappointing for Newcastle fans. But it’s got to be said, for a game that didn’t really matter too much, the lads left everything on the pitch today and gave an entertaining performance. And that’s what a lot of fans have said they would have been happy with all season.

Manchester City have wrapped up the league and may have made a few changes at the back, but in the past 11 games away from home they only conceded 4 goals before conceding 3 tonight. Torres, 21, is going to be one for the future for Manchester City. He’s had a pretty good first season, but a hat-trick within 29minutes either side of half time was taken really well.

But for Newcastle, it’s that midfield maestro Joe Willock who could potentially be the future. Calls are coming in from fans left, right and center to try and get him signed up this summer. Willock scored his fifth in five games today, the first Newcastle player to do that since Papiss Cisse.

Saint-Maximin looked class once again, he’ll be the star-man Newcastle have to keep fit next season and build around. Almiron looked sharp, but his decision making wasn’t always perfect.

It’ll be great to have a weekend without watching over our shoulders all weekend at fixtures, so here’s to looking forward to having fans back in St. James’ Park next week and to potentially picking up another couple of wins before the season is over.

I’ll leave you with some reaction and stats from the game!

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FULL-TIME

90+6mins - Newcastle just unable to win the ball back. For all it’s excitement it appears this one will fizzle out and Man City will go 12 away games in a row with a win.

90+4mins - Free-kick is played short to Willock who sends a deep cross, but nothing doing for the Mags.

Longstaff wins the ball and just passes it to Walker?

City break and Gundogan hits another rank shot. His form really dropped when KDB came back into the side.

90+2mins - Sterling has been playing in this game apparently?
Corner City and they put it in the middle for some reason.

Dubz claims and sets the team on their way before Jesus fouls Willock.

90mins - Five Minutes Added time. Some really, really tired bodies out there now.

88mins - Substitution - Newcastle - Fernandez OFF Gayle ON.

I think Bruce realised we were behind after making a defensive substitution last time round.

86mins - I feel like the players are going to have nightmares of this game tonight. Not sure they’ll remember what a pass feels like.

Commentators beginning to OLE between each pass. Sick.

84mins - Substitutions - Newcastle - Joelinton & Ritchie OFF - Sean Longstaff & Lewis ON.

82mins - Almost four minutes without touching the ball. Unreal. 3mins 45secs of possession.

80mins - Newcastle haven’t touched the ball in 2 minutes.

78mins - Tough to keep up with City when they’re playing like this. Some tired legs on the pitch now. City are class at keep ball.

Like when the older kids steal your ball on the playground.

76mins - Newcastle getting chances here. Almiron does poorly though. He has a chance to get Willock in on goal but under hits the pass.

74mins - Miggy and ASM again work the ball well. ASM puts a cross-field ball over to Murphy who cleverly plays in Willock, but the midfielder hits across the ball sending it way out over the goal.

Substitution - City - Cancelo OFF - Mendy ON.
Mendy on to make sure he gets his winners medal come the end of the season.

72mins - CARSON WATCH - We said on social media we’d do this...so...yeah.
He hasn’t really had anything to do other than the goals. None of which he could do anything about. First game in 10 years and City concede 3. Gutted.

City have had 89% possession in the past 10 mins. 89. I didn’t think that was even possible.

70mins - City playing it around the edge of the box so well. Newcastle clear it up to Joelinton who holds up well until he earns a free-kick to relieve the pressure. Temporarily at least.

68mins - Took a second for a breather there. Not much happened other than Joelinton stepping on Cancelo’s pinky and falling to the ground.

66mins - GOAL Newcastle 3-4 Man City

Hattrick for Torres.

Newcastle actually were attacking, but Murphy shot instead of crossed, City counter and Cancelo’s shot from the left side of the box hits the post before Torres acrobatically volleys the rebound powerfully past Dubz.

64mins - GOAL Newcastle 3-3 Man City

Aaaannnnndddd we’re back to level.

Torres with another good finish from another Gundogan assist. Gundogan on the right beats his man, drills a low cross and no-one picks up Torres and he gets a touch to knock it in.

62mins - Looks like Willock is sending Joelinton away and wants this one having won this pen.

HE MISSES!!! CARSON SAVES!!!!

GOAL Newcastle 3-2 Man City

The penalty was saved, but Willock manages to react quickest and slot the ball in.

UNITED LEAD!!

61mins - Penalty to Newcastle again!!!!

60mins - I feel I didn’t give it enough attention, but Krafth’s goal was his first in 31 appearances in the PL. What a time to score!

58mins - Ake nearly City’s downfall again! Ritchie finds Willock but Ake slips. Willock takes a touch to shoot but Garcia puts it behind for a corner.

Ritchie’s ball not as good this time and Torres counters this time. That is before Shelvey cynically wipes him out and joins Cancelo in the book.

56mins - United keep the ball for a minute here. Worked well and with players in the box it falls to Murphy who, completely as expected, shoots instead of crosses and it’s easy for Carson.

Murphy’s been great in the side since he came in, but the one issue is his decision making.

His defending was great against Cancelo in the corner, as he wriggles away with the ball before being pulled back. There’s a couple of afters too, with Cancelo kicking the ball at Murphy. He gets a yellow.

54mins - Counter attacks are definitely working here though. Mags nearly in on goal, Ake puts a through ball out for a corner.

He puts a peach of a ball in but it misses everyone. Dummett then puts the follow up in another dangerous area but it somehow pings off of Joelinton and out of the box.

52mins - Newcastle getting a little angsty here, making silly challenges.
Saint-Maximin pulling his weight defensively, nicking the ball from Silva and drawing a foul.

Newcastle hoof the free-kick up field and are back to defending. Saps your energy watching the Toon invite this pressure.

50mins - Murphy trip Jesus on the left corner of the box, free-kick in a dangerous area again.
Gundogan over it again. He whips a GREAT ball across the face of goal, Shelvey gets a feather of a touch to put it behind.

Corner comes to nothing after Willock clears.

48mins - Ooo, Newcastle have a chance. After ASMs good play he sets Willock off on his bike. The Mags get players forward, but Willock’s cross is too close to Carson. Good position there, not great from Joe.

46mins - Saint-Maximin is a treat to watch. The ball sticks to his boots liks glue, he must get drugs tested a hell of a lot ay?

45mins - Jesus gets the second half underway.

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Half-Time Chat...

So Newcastle scoring with their first attack through who else?..Emil Krafth. Always seen him as a danger man up top. City then got back into it in the 29th minute through an unfortunate deflection from a Cancelo shot and took the lead not long after through Torres. Nothing fortunate about that though, a real touch of class.

But then Newcastle on the counter were deadly again. Miggy plays a one-two with Willock, then plays a fantastic ball through to Saint-Maximin. i thought he’d made a hash of it, but he finds Joelinton on the overlap who takes a touch and Ake takes his standing leg out from under him. Penalty which Big Joe hit with conviction.

Scott Carson - playing in his first Premier League game in 10 years - could do nothing about either goal, nor Dubravka in goal for Newcastle.

Here’s to hoping the second half is as entertaining as the first, just with a little less domination from City in terms of possession.

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Half-time

45 +6mins - GOAL. 2-2!!!!

£40million well spent!!! Fantastic, well hit shot into the roof of the net , no chance for the keeper.

Joelinton with 3 goals in 7 matches now.

Clinical.

45 +5mins - Joelinton stepping up...

45 +3mins - PENALTY NEWCASTLE!

45mins - Three minutes stoppage time.

Manchester City toying with Newcastle here. Really under the cosh.

But hang on potential penalty Newcastle here!

44mins - Newcastle look to respond. Ritchie hits a searching cross from just inside the City half and Joelinton meets it well near the edge of the box with a flying header that Carson sees go past his bar.

42mins - GOAL. What a goal. 1-2 City.

City have a freekick on the left, above the box by the byline. Gundogan whips a good ball in and Torres meets it in the air with a deft flick using the outside of his boot to nudge it past Dubravka and in.

40mins - GOAL. City. 1-1. Commentators curse.

Cancelo hits it from the left, it cannons off of Murphy and deflects into the far post.

Little Dubz could do about it and you can’t say it hasn’t been coming.

38mins - Still can’t get over Krafth scoring, and then very nearly Shelvey too.

City recycling the ball well, but can’t get through.

36mins - BIG MOMENT! What a hit! Shelvey smashes the bar, beats the wall, beats Carson but it ricochets hard off the upright.

34mins - Newcastle break, Saint-Maximin plays a wonderful ball and Miggy sprints on goal. He gets it away from Garcia, but Ake lunges from behind and takes him out. Free kick Newcastle.

Shelvey - captain for the night over it.

32mins - Miggy leaves a leg and catches Torres, free-kick City about 30 yards out, right hand side. Gundogan over it and he curls around the wall but straight at Dubz.

30mins - Willock is such a good runner with the ball. He picks it up in his own half after pinching from Sterling and out paces and muscles him and Ake but the final ball is behind Joelinton.

The two of them look spent after that!

28mins - Dummett last week, Krafth this...get Carroll on next week I reckon!

As expected, City don’t panic and revert to playing the ball around well. Newcastle look happy to sit in and hope to get something on the counter. Long balls directly at Joelinton and for Saint-Maximin to run on to look the only way Newcastle will get out though.

26mins - GOAL. NEWCASTLE!?

KRAFTH?! Great ball in from the corner and Krafth heads in unmarked in the centre of the box.

24mins- CARSON WATCH. He’s struggling to stay warm. Only three touches so far.

Another corner City (the first came to nothing) and the second doesn’t make it into the box and nor does the follow up cross.
Newcastle reading everything well.

Newcastle do get forward. A ball lumped forward allows Saint-Maximin to get forward who find Joelinton. Joelinton moves it onto his left on the left of the box and shoots, but Walker is back to block. Corner Newcastle.

22mins - Newcastle actually get forward. Saint-Maxmin releases Willock who puts an early ball across the edge of the box. It misses everyone, including Joelinton - the only man in black and white forward.

City come back and float a ball up into the box and there’s miscommunication between Fernandez and Dubravka as the Slovakian comes out to punch the ball.

Corner City.

20mins - City trying to walk it in, but Newcastle staying tight and it’s Almiron with the latest tackle.
Cancelo gets the first shot on target, he cuts in onto his right foot after beating Murphy, but it’s fairly easy to get down to for Dubz.

18mins - Torres is the latest City player to try and break through the back 5, but his through ball is over hit and heads out for a goalkick.

16mins - Man City looking for too controlled here. The Mags look like they're holding off of the usual high press. Feels like holding on for the draw already.

Yay.

14mins - Cancelo gets down the left and slides a ball back to Torres but he can't get a decent hit on it.

12mins - Cancelo is absolutely class isn't he? Such a technically goodfootballer, not a defender mind!

Torres works well in the middle of the pitch, lays off Gundogan who strikes it first time for right of center of just outside the box, but he skews his shot wide. So wide.

10mins - Willock is almost found by a good through ball. He appears to be quick to start the counter attacks here. The Arsenal man will be looking to make it 5 goals in 5 games here.

8mins - Unexpectedly, it's Nathan Ake who has the first shot. He slices a shot sky-high from the edge of the box.

Feeling like a training game this.

Newcastle almost make a big mistake dealing with a long ball over the top. Fernandez's clearance header finds Jesus who takes a touch on his chest and gets a good volleyed effort that whizzes past Dubravka's right-hand post.

6mins - Carson being praised for his work behind the scenes. I imagine the commentators won't give the kitman the recognition he deserves though smh...

Patient play by City, keeping possession well but they're unable to make anything happen.

4mins - Newcastle win the first corner of the game. Ritchie's ball in easily cleared from Ake, but Almiron keeps the ball in and Saint-Maximin swings another ball in that Fernandez meets at the back post and tamely heads towards Carson for his first touch of the game.

2mins - City look very fluid going forward, putting Newcastle under pressure.

0mins - FALSE START! Newcastle players had beat the gun and kickoff is to be retaken.

Miggy eventually gets us underway, Newcastle shooting right to left.

The players take a knee to Say No To Racism.

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Premier League football every day of the week has been great hasn’t it? But in what is technically the first game of the 36th gameweek of the season (just 3 fixtures remaining per side now), Newcastle United are kicking the weekend off again against newly crowned Premier League champions Manchester City.

The Magpies are coming in hot after their 4-2 win against Leicester City last week; a fantastic, gritty performance from the lads that was well rewarded with the news that Premier League football was confirmed for another season after Fulham were beaten 2-0; condemning them to the drop along with Sheffield United and West Bromwich Albion.

As much as i’d hoped that the Magpies were going to clinch survival by one of their own performances - rather than it being handed to them - i’ll take it. And i’m sure it’s not as strange a feeling as Manchester City fans would have had after they were handed the title following Manchester United’s loss to Leicester earlier this week.

It’s fair to say that the Magpies don’t have the best record against the Citizens. In 41 PL head-to-heads, Newcastle have won only 8, drawing 8 and losing 25! Having won once in the last 10 Premier League fixtures, you’d be let off for thinking this one may get away from us.

But with City’s relative...nothing to play for?...and Newcastle coming in off the back of a great result, perhaps the lads can pull another one out. Steve Bruce - fresh from his April’s Manager of the Month award - will be without his main striker Wilson, as the Englishman has been ruled out for the rest of the season with another hamstring injury.

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Team News

Newcastle Line-Up

Dubravka;

Dummett, Ritchie, Krafth, Fernandez, Murphy;

Shelvey ©, Almiron, Willock;

Joelinton, Saint-Maximin.

Manchester City Line-Up

Carson;

Walker, Ake, Garcia, Cancelo;

Gundogan, Rodrigo, Bernado Silva;

Sterling, Jesus, Torres.

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How to Watch/Listen

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Information from LiveSoccer.com