The visitors’ periods of anxiety and utter confusion had nothing to do with a lack of fitness and nothing to do with the skill and aggression of Allan Saint-Maximin and the rest of the Newcastle squad who had apparently bought into Eddie Howe’s mantra that the mountains are there for climb. With Saint-Maximin at their electric, soulless best, Howe’s 12-game losing streak against City finally came to an end as he and his improved players passed what he described as “the ultimate test” of their recent progress. Long before the end of a contest that reminded that, especially in defence, Pep Guardiola’s champions are ultimately mortal, the Newcastle manager must have been greatly relieved to have resisted a brief temptation to sell the sometimes high-maintenance Saint-Maximin. At 4.30 p.m. both teams were yet to concede their first league goals of the season, but at 16.35 the ball nestled into the back of Nick Pope’s net. Bernardo Silva was allowed to direct a floating right-wing cross in the direction of Ilkay Gundogan and, after passing into the space between Kieran Trippier and Fabian Scheer, Gundogan had plenty of time to control the ball before slotting it past the Pope . With the impressive Pope making a smart save from Kevin De Bruyne after Joe Willock had stripped him of midfield possession and the influential Bruno Guimarães having to watch his step after collecting a booking for a tackle on De Bruyne, Newcastle faced, if only for a while,. The Fiver: sign up and receive our daily football email. Reliably, such adversity seemed to imbue them with new attacking ferocity and, despite Pope’s legs once again coming to the rescue to deny Phil Foden, their counter-attack seriously surprised Guardiola’s defence. City’s spotless defensive record appeared to be under intense pressure and, in the 28th minute, was tarnished when Miguel Almirón used a thigh to push Saint-Maximin’s cross past Ederson. Although the equalizer was initially ruled out for offside, a VAR review overturned that decision. The subsequent outpouring of joy from the majority of the 52,000 home crowd was partly due to a sense of justice finally being served in the wake of Jack Grealish’s scathing comments about the Paraguayan’s alleged inadequacies as City celebrated winning the title last spring. Kieran Trippier leads the celebrations after challenging Newcastle 3-1 against the champions. Photo: Serena Taylor/Newcastle United/Getty Images The England midfielder’s words angered the Newcastle players and it was suspected that Grealish’s absence – officially through injury – on Saturday may have been diplomatic. Watching Grealish from a distance will have noted that, with one player missing, Almirón played exceptionally well, combining superbly with Saint-Maximin. It’s safe to assume John Stones will never be tempted to offer the slightest criticism of the latter after this, and especially not after being tormented by the French winger near halfway in the prelude to Newcastle’s second goal. Callum Wilson proved to profit from the ensuing pass and, taking a wonderful touch to avoid Ruben Diaz, the Howe centre-forward avoided Anderson’s gap with the second. With the outside of his right foot, it was a commanding finish and, scoring in front of England manager Gareth Southgate, reinforced the argument that, apart from Harry Kane, there is no better England No 9. Strikers rarely get more formidable than Norway’s Erling Haaland, but the new focal point of Guardiola’s attack has been dulled for long periods by Sven Botman and Fabian Serre. Indeed, despite the fact that Haaland escaped attention by dropping deep when Pope had to turn his shot onto a post, Newcastle had City on the ropes for some time. Guardiola was literally left scratching his head after Trippier sent a free-kick over the visitors’ wall and curled into the top corner. The time had come for Haaland to remind everyone what all the fuss was about and, with Rodry volleying De Bruyne’s cross unerringly past Pope, he did not disappoint. With the balance of power subtly shifting and the game more open than ever, the Newcastle keeper again saved well from Haaland before De Bruyne’s beautiful, tangled reverse pass was flicked into the bottom corner by Silva. Unfortunately for Howe, De Bruyne’s growing impact looked like brilliant sunshine emerging from a bank of clouds. The sight of the Belgian lighting up a midfield in which Joelinton had shone earlier saw Trippier catch De Bruyne on the knee with a rash, high tackle. Howe looked quite relieved as Jared Gillett’s initial straight red card was turned yellow after a VAR review. Things continued in a similar kaleidoscopic, at times borderline chaotic, vein until the final whistle finally stopped what will surely rank as a 21st century classic.
