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A comfortable victory in less than ideal circumstances. Manchester City overcame the interruption of Kyle Walker and Gabriel Jesus’ positive tests for Covid-19 to record a routine win over Newcastle United, themselves depleted by the virus. Pep Guardiola’s winger moves within five points of leader Liverpool, still believing that he can regain that lost ground.
his was never really in doubt, even before kickoff. City’s winning streak against Newcastle at the Etihad is the longest against any high-level opponent and extended into their 12th game here. Gundogan’s first goal meant that City equaled the Premier League record for scoring against the same opponent, which stands in 24 consecutive games.
The goals are not flowing yet. There were only two, from Ilkay Gundogan and Ferran Torres, against a team that conceded five in this field last season. Still, a routine victory was very welcome for City after the disappointment of losing points to West Bromwich Albion in their last outing at home.
Apart from the three points, the performance of Joao Cancelo was another great positive. Replacing Walker, the right-back played more like a right-side central midfielder at times, like the inverted full-backs that Guardiola popularized at Bayern Munich, and was a constant threat.
This result will not define Newcastle’s season. That was the sad EFL Cup loss to Brentford earlier this week, leaving fans looking ahead to another subsistence Premier League season at best. Steve Bruce’s team fought back bravely and did well to keep the score low but offered next to nothing going forward and was never likely to respond quickly to Tuesday’s disappointment.
The impressive Cancello weighed in on the advance, which came after a quarter of an hour and was eerily similar to the last goal City scored on this field in a 1-1 draw with West Bromwich. As on the Tuesday before last, the same three players combined on the right, with Cancelo raising his head and playing a perfect one-inch pass off the feet of Raheem Sterling.
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Newcastle United’s DeAndre Yedlin and Manchester City’s Raheem Sterling battle for the ball. Photo: Clive Brunskill / PA Wire
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Sterling tried to get close to a goal, but a growing mass of black and white stripes in front of him prevented the shot. He held on to the ball, waited a moment, then feinted to send goalkeeper Karl Darlow to one knee, all of which gave Gundogan enough time to be late in front of the Newcastle defense, receive a direct pass and deliver a shot a short distance.
It was a well-worked goal, which embodies the patience that City has shown in attack lately. Sometimes they are too patient. Kevin De Bruyne’s wait for a goal from open play continues, somehow, despite a delicate pass from Torres getting him clean on Darlow’s goal. The City captain for the night waited too long to pull the trigger, allowing the Newcastle keeper to block his eventual kick with his legs.
Fabian Schar could have reminded City of the dangers that this casual approach entails when he found room at the far post and stretched out to face a Joelinton header, but failed to convert Newcastle’s only half-decent chance at the half. And within five minutes of the reboot, hopes for an unlikely point were extinguished.
Cancelo was once again central to the action and was unlucky not to receive credit for an assist. When Rodri’s shot was blocked, the City’s right-back pulled Miguel Almirón off the loose ball and sent a low cross into the six-yard box. Federico Fernández believed he had done enough, turning on his heel to block, but the ball fell directly into Torres’ path for a tap-in.
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Manchester City’s Sergio Agüero (left) and manager Pep Guardiola. Photo: Peter Powell / PA Wire
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Of the players younger than Torres, 20, in Europe’s five big leagues, only Erling Haaland has scored more times this season. The city should have had several more. Sterling was responsible for a notable miss, slamming Cancelo’s cross against his supporting leg. Her blushes were saved a bit when Bernardo Silva hit the post from a narrow angle on the rebound.
Sergio Agüero, as a late substitute, was spectacularly denied by Darlow of another looking Cancelo crusader. There is a feeling that sooner or later City will start to seize these opportunities. Even if the style of play is noticeably more cautious, the goals should still come. Until then, it’s important to keep collecting points and from that perspective, this was a lot of work done.
Sunday Indo Sport
