Newcastle United vs Manchester City. Premier League.
St James' Park, NewcastleAttendance52,190.
Report and free match highlights as Kevin De Bruyne's return to Premier League action inspired Man City to a thrilling 3-2 comeback victory at Newcastle; the Belgium international grabbed a goal and an assist in 25 minutes on the pitch as City came back from 2-1 down in second half
Sunday 14 January 2024 07:06, UK
Kevin De Bruyne marked his return to Premier League action with a goal and an assist as Manchester City came from behind to secure a dramatic 3-2 victory at Newcastle.
With City trailing 2-1, the Belgium midfielder, who played in the league for the first time since injuring his hamstring on the opening day of the season, came on in the 69th minute and took just four minutes and 34 seconds to make an impact, grabbing the equaliser with a fine finish past Martin Dubravka.
He wasn't done there as the 32-year-old's magical pass set up Oscar Bobb's injury-time winner (90+1) as City broke Newcastle hearts and snatched all three points at St James' Park.
Pep Guardiola heaped praise on the returning De Bruyne's performance.
"I'm so grumpy and upset with Kevin [De Bruyne] because his first touch was a free-kick and he couldn't score," said the Manchester City boss.
"He's a special player, a legend. He's stretching his mind, five months is a long time and hopefully he can help us be there until the end in the second half of the season."
Guardiola's side, who lost Ederson to injury in the eighth minute, put a difficult start to the game behind them as Bernardo Silva's sublime backheel finish gave them a 26th-minute lead.
However, Newcastle, who have now suffered four straight league defeats, turned the game on its head with two goals from Alexander Isak (35) and Anthony Gordon (37) in the space of two minutes and 19 seconds.
It set the stage for De Bruyne's masterful 25-minute cameo in the second half as City secured a thrilling win which sees them move up to second in the table and pile the pressure on their title rivals as they look to secure a fourth straight Premier League crown.
There was no settling into the game for either side. Newcastle were quick out of the traps as Isak latched onto a ball over the top before squaring for Sean Longstaff to convert. Manchester City survived thanks to the offside flag but it proved to be a costly period of play as goalkeeper Ederson picked up an injury after colliding with team-mate Kyle Walker.
The Brazilian goalkeeper, who was eventually replaced by Stefan Ortega, tried to continue but it was a move that almost backfired as his slack pass was closed down by Miguel Almiron. The ball fell kindly for Gordon, who squared to Bruno Guimaraes instead of shooting. However, neither the Brazilian midfielder or Almiron could get a shot away with the goal at their mercy.
It proved to be a costly miss as City put their wobbly start behind them. The visitors took control of proceedings and Silva was at the heart of it and it was his backheel finish from Walker's low cross that broke the deadlock to hand Guardiola's side the lead.
Newcastle were rocking as Manchester City threatened to extend their lead. Silva almost grabbed a second later, but his powerful strike was brilliantly touched onto the crossbar by Dubravka, while the Slovakian goalkeeper also denied Phil Foden at his near post.
However, the momentum of the match quickly changed as Newcastle, from out of nowhere, scored two goals in two minutes and 19 seconds with their first two shots on target. First it was Isak who got in behind City's high line to gather Bruno Guimaraes first-time ball over the top before curling a fine finish past Ortega and into the far corner.
Lightning struck twice as Dan Burn released Gordon down the left before the winger cut inside and bent a fine finish into almost exactly the same spot as Isak to send St James' Park into pandemonium.
Manchester City had Newcastle pinned back at the start of the second half. It was a case of defence vs attack as City looked to get back on level terms. However, the clear-cut chances were few and far between for the champions as Newcastle got men behind the ball.
Guardiola reacted by calling for De Bruyne in the 69th minute and he was straight into the action. His first touch was to send a free-kick into the wall, but City recycled possession with the ball lifted back into the box. It dropped kindly for Julian Alvarez, who skied his shot high over the crossbar from eight yards.
City did finally get back on level terms and it was De Bruyne to the rescue as he collected Rodri's incisive pass before steering a low shot through the legs of Fabian Schar and past Dubravka with 16 minutes remaining.
Newcastle were holding on for dear life as City pushed for a winner and the final twist on a topsy-turvy game came in stoppage time when Bobb brilliantly controlled De Bruyne's inch-perfect angled pass and poked past Dubravka to clinch victory.
You hope Kevin De Bruyne is just rusty and not up to full speed, but then he comes on and… Nope. He crosses the ball so well, for the majority of the time he was on we dealt with those situations well, but for his goal we didn’t defend well enough, and for the assist at the end, that was hugely frustrating with just three minutes to see out, you thought we were almost there.
Man City boss Pep Guardiola:
"No words to describe the performance. We are judged on the performance. A win will be judged. The mentality and what we are able to do. We proved our qualities.
"It was weird but we took the game in our control, we arrived in small pockets really well. We conceded two goals on the transition, they are similar to Liverpool.
"Stick to the plan, continue to do it and the magic from Kevin and Oscar came."
On the performances of De Buryne and Oscar Bobb, he added: "I'm so grumpy and upset with Kevin because his first touch was a free-kick and he couldn't score. Phil Foden was outstanding. Everyone was really good.
"When opponents are more tired, Kevin and Oscar provide another pace at the end.
"Oscar's was a fantastic goal for the control. We were really impressed in pre-season, I knew from information for the second team he was special.
"When Kevin has the ball and we have runners, Kevin is unique in the world but the finish by Oscar, I am so, so happy for him."
Sky Sports' Oliver Yew:
It didn't take long, did it?
Any team would miss Kevin De Bruyne. Even a team of the quality of Pep Guardiola's Manchester City. He's just that good and he showed his full repertoire in 25 minutes on the pitch at St James' Park.
With City trailing 2-1, Guardiola called upon the Belgium international in the 69th minute. He was straight into the action. Precisely four minutes and 34 seconds after his introduction, he found space in between the lines before driving at the heart of the Newcastle defence. You knew what was coming next as the ball flashed between Fabian Schar's legs and beyond the dive of Martin Dubravka to nestle in the bottom corner.
Despite Newcastle's grit and determination in defence, a City winner felt inevitable. De Bruyne's contribution felt inevitable and this time it was an inch-perfect angled pass for Oscar Bobb to convert for the winner.
It was like De Bruyne had never been away.
City's celebrations after the dramatic win centred around the 32-year-old. His team-mates know his importance. Guardiola knows his importance and his return makes the Premier League title favourites even stronger.
"He's a special player, a legend," Guardiola said. "He's stretching his mind, five months is a long time and hopefully he can help us be there until the end in the second half of the season."
Despite some uncharacteristic results this campaign, many have found it difficult to turn their back on City when predicting the winner of the race for the title. A few bravely did, but after seeing De Bruyne's impact, it will be difficult to find anyone backing against City now.
Newcastle boss Eddie Howe:
"It was a really good first-half performance from us. End-to-end, brave football. We probably ran out of gas in the second half.
"It looked like we had done enough for the point, with the way we defended you'd have backed us to see it out but we couldn't do it in the end.
"We are limited from the bench at the moment. The lads gave a lot in the first half, we looked really good, we just probably couldn't sustain it.
"That's the quality they have, but you have to find a way. You just hoped we could see it out and get a really good point."
On his side now losing four Premier League games in a row, Howe added: "We just have to continue in the same form as today really. There's not a lot wrong with our performances. You can see today we are a tip team. The group is in a good place, I don't see any negativity. I see hurt because we aren't winning and that's what we're here to do. We had a good win in the FA Cup last week and that boosted us for today."
Newcastle will benefit from a two-week break before their next engagement, which is a trip to face Fulham at Craven Cottage in the fourth round of the FA Cup on January 27.
They return to Premier League duty on January 30 when travelling to Aston Villa; kick-off 8.15pm.
Manchester City also have FA Cup commitments on January 26, facing Spurs at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, before a return to Premier League action sees Vincent Kompany's Burnley travel to the Etihad on January 31; kick-off 7.30m.
