Rafa Benitez thinks Newcastle have found the belief to escape relegation

Rafa Benitez thinks his Newcastle players have found the belief needed to escape relegation from the Premier League.

United grabbed a precious point as they held Manchester City to a 1-1 draw on Tuesday, meaning they have taken four points from their last two games.

Sergio Aguero scored his 100th Premier League goal as Manuel Pellegrini's men took a 14th-minute lead at St James' Park but Vurnon Anita levelled the contest on 31 minutes with a well-taken strike.

The draw saw Newcastle miss the chance to move out of the relegation zone for the first time under Benitez, but they remain on the coattails of Sunderland and Norwich in 19th, two points from safety.

"The team was working hard but now we have more belief," Benitez said. 

"With the fans behind them, they will give everything and fight until the end. Today was an example of that.

"The players are doing what they have to do: they are giving everything. They are playing with passion, with commitment. That is the main thing to see to team reacting and see the team believing.

"You have to be pleased. When you play against a team like Manchester City, to do what we have done from 1-0 down with the reaction of the team to create chances you have to be pleased against a very good team." 

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Newcastle had made a promising start in the game but that evaporated in controversial circumstances as Aguero, from a clear offside position, headed Aleksandar Kolarov's free-kick beyond Karl Darlow on 14 minutes.

When asked if it was a decision that the linesman should have seen, Benitez said: "I think so. I didn't see the replay but people told me it was offside. You can't change nothing - hopefully it won't happen again and we can concentrate on the next games."