Newcastle 3-3 Man City: Player ratings as Cityzens launch second half comeback
Manchester City struck twice inside three second half minutes to salvage a point against Newcastle in a thrilling 3-3 draw at St. James' Park.
It only took the visitors four minutes to break the deadlock. The play was spread out to the right from City before Bernardo Silva checked back onto his left side, delivering a curling delivery that fooled the Newcastle defence and allowed Ilkay Gundogan to control the cross and fire beyond Nick Pope.
Both Kevin de Bruyne and Phil Foden then went close for Pep Guardiola's side, but it was the Magpies who were beginning to build a head of steam.
Miguel Almiron ought to have equalised in the 17th minute after being teed up by an Allan Saint-Maximin pull-back, but the winger lifted his effort over the crossbar.
Saint-Maximin took it upon himself minutes later to draw a fine save from Ederson, before Callum Wilson went close from a corner. The ball fell invitingly to the former Bournemouth man from close-range but he failed to generate a clean contact on his finish.
However, their early persistence paid off as Almiron redeemeed himself for his earlier miss. Saint-Maximin was again the architect, delivering a wicked cross towards the back post where the Paraguayan bundled the ball over the line after Joe Willock failed to make contact.
And the frenetic turnaround was completed for the Magpies when Callum Wilson fired home seven minutes before the interval. A sweeping move seen Saint-Maximin feed the Englishman as he took his first touch across Ruben Dias before poking the ball beyond Ederson.
Erling Haaland was inches away from levelling for the Cityzens shortly after the restart. The Norwegian ghosted through two Newcastle challenges before firing at goal on his weaker side, although the post denied him.
Minutes later, Newcastle extended their lead. Kieran Trippier, who came through the youth ranks at City, curled a sublime free-kick into the top corner to lift the roof of St. James' Park.
Haaland then curbed Newcastle's celebrations on the hour-mark to bring City back into the game. De Bruyne's cross towards the back post was flicked back across by Rodri before the Norwegian reacted swiftly to dispatch his finish high into the roof of the net.
And Guardiola's side only needed two more minutes to complete the comeback. De Bruyne turned provider again, threading a delicious reverse pass through the heart of the Magpies backline where Bernardo Silva lurked to cooly pass the ball into the corner of the net.
Trippier earned a VAR reprieve after initially being shown a red card for a tactical foul on De Bruyne, while Haaland went close to snatching a winner for the visitors shortly after.
Here's how both teams rated.
Newcastle vs Man City player ratings
1. Newcastle (4-3-3)
GK: Nick Pope - 6/10 - Made a huge stop to deny Haaland one-on-one in the second half, but he could do little to resist the sea of City pressure after Tripper's goal.
RB: Kieran Trippier - 6/10 - Drove Newcastle forward at times, often looking to switch the direction of attacks with long diagonal passes. Produced a world-class free-kick to add Newcastle's third of the afternoon and was involved in VAR drama after initially being shown a red card for a foul on De Bruyne.
CB: Fabian Schar - 6/10 - Booked in the first half for a foul on Phil Foden, but he regained his composure to produce a stellar performance despite the scoreline.
CB: Sven Botman - 5/10 - Displayed some impressive last-ditch defending, but he was pinned all too easily by Haaland to allow Silva to ghost in-behind and equalise for City in the second half.
LB: Dan Burn - 6/10 - His positional sense was impeccable, maintaining his compactness with the defensive line instead of engaging with the nimble Bernardo Silva.
CM: Bruno Guimaraes - 6/10 - Snapped into challenges, as underlined by his early booking for scything down De Bruyne, and showed impressive directness in possession.
CM: Joe Willock - 5/10 - Not as influential as the two midfielders beside him, but his ability to break into the penalty box from deep caused City a few headaches, as demonstrated by Almiron's goal.
CM: Joelinton - 6/10 - A real powerhouse from midfield, releasing Saint-Maximin quickly while offering invaluable energy without the ball.
RW: Miguel Almiron - 8/10 - Passed up a glorious opportunity to level for Howe's side following Gundogan's opener, but he redeemed himself by getting on the end of Saint-Maximin's cross to score. His penetrative runs caused Joao Cancelo issues aplenty.
ST: Callum Wilson - 7/10 - Finished with aplomb to complete Newcastle's first half turnaround, breezing past Ruben Dias. A typical No.9's performance where he always seemed to be positioned perfectly to get on the end of chances.
LW: Allan Saint-Maximin - 9/10 - Caused City a mountain of problems with his pace and trickery. Supplied both Newcastle goals in the first half before winning the free-kick that Trippier dispatched from. Supreme individual showing.
SUB: Chris Wood (70' for Wilson) - N/A
SUB: Sean Longstaff (70' for Willock) - N/A
SUB: Jacob Murphy (82' for Almiron) - N/A
SUB: Emil Kraft (90' for Burn) - N/A
Manager: Eddie Howe - 7/10 - Made the bold decision to leave his attacking trio high up the pitch, but it paid dividends with all three involved in Newcastle's goals.
2. Man City (4-3-3)
GK: Ederson - 5/10 - Could do little to prevent Trippier's stunning free-kick, but he made the curious decision to take a step behind his wall.
RB: Kyle Walker - 4/10 - Struggled against the pace and directness of Saint-Maximin and he began to make the fatal mistake of backing off in the second half to open up more space for the Frenchman.
CB: John Stones - 4/10 - Ghosted past by Saint-Maximin in the lead up to Newcastle's second goal before commiting the foul on the Frenchman which lead to Trippier's free-kick goal. Not the finest 90 minutes in a City shirt for the Englishman.
CB: Nathan Ake - N/A - Forced off on 20 minutes with an injury.
LB: Joao Cancelo - 5/10 - Hardly covered himself in glory for the concession of Newcastle's equaliser, failing to get goalside of Almiron when Saint-Maximin delivered into the area. Didn't operate with his usual smoothness in possession.
CM: Rodri - 5/10 - Often overwhelmed by Newcastle's speed and industry in midfield and suprisingly wasteful when attempting to execute simple passes.
CM: Kevin de Bruyne - 8/10 - Had a chance to double City's advantage in the opening exchanges, opting to fire straight at Pope instead of squaring for Haaland. But he certainly drove his side on in the second half, having his hand in both goals to complete the comeback.
CM: Ilkay Gundogan - 6/10 - Finished with aplomb to open the scoring for City, but did very little else as the away side struggled to find him in the areas he enjoys occupying.
RW: Bernardo Silva - 7/10 - Showed great presence of mind to ignore the overlapping options and deliver towards Gundogan in the penalty area to open the scoring. Finished with pristine coolness to level for City.
ST: Erling Haaland - 7/10 - Wreaked havoc on the Newcastle defence in the second half and underlined exactly why City spent the money on him by dispatching with aplomb to bring his side back into the game.
LW: Phil Foden - 5/10 - Really stretched Newcastle's defensive line with his runs in off the left touchline in the early exchanges, but he faded as the game went on.
SUB: Ruben Dias (20' for Ake) - 5/10 - A bystander as Wilson ghosted across him before finishing for Newcastle's second of the afternoon.
Manager: Pep Guardiola - 6/10 - City suffered from the lack of natural wingers on the pitch, which puts the Spaniard's decision to sell Raheem Sterling in the summer under the microscope.