Newcastle’s recent slide left them 15th in the Premier League at kick-off but, by the end of an always absorbing, sometimes almost anarchic, eveningthey had ascended to Cloud Nine.
It is very hard to argue that Eddie Howe is not an elite coach but, until this watershed win, his record against Pep Guardiola was pretty dismal.
In 18 Premier League matches against Manchester City, with Bournemouth and Newcastle, Howe had lost 16 and drawn two.
Given his chameleon side – often excellent in Europe, frequently underwhelming in the league this term – kicked off just above the relegation zone, Newcastle’s manager must have been suitably relieved that Erling Haaland spurned a wonderful early chance during an opening 45 minutes punctuated by a series of missed opportunities by both sides.
With Haaland clean through, St James’ Park waited for the Norwegian to round Nick Pope but, for once, his robotic reliability in front of goal vanished and he made an absolute hash of an attempt to lift the ball over the goalkeeper.
