'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
It wasn’t quite as easy as some fans were expecting, but in the end, Manchester City were able to get the job done against a dogged Newcastle United side.
The champions took the lead early on through a Raheem Sterling goal, only for the Magpies to peg them back with what was their only shot on goal in the first half – a first Premier League strike from DeAndre Yedlin.
City bossed the game but it looked like they could end the afternoon frustrated, only for Kyle Walker to save the day with his first goal for Manchester City – a rasping right-footed drive from 30 yards. Here are five talking points from the game.
Trending
#1 Suicidal defending costs Newcastle dearly
After Newcastle’s ultra-defensive tactics last week almost allowed them to snatch a point away from Chelsea, it came as no surprise that Rafael Benitez came into this game with a similar gameplan – setting up in a 4-5-1 formation to attempt to stifle City.
The only problem with an ultra-defensive gameplan though is that you have to be absolutely watertight – especially early on – for it to work. And here that simply wasn’t the case as Jamaal Lascelles’ weak pass was intercepted by Benjamin Mendy, who then played Raheem Sterling through to open the scoring after just eight minutes.
Sure, the Magpies then defended doggedly for the rest of the game and managed to stifle City to the point where it took a real moment of magic to pull off the win, but had it not been for Lascelles’ piece of suicidal defending, they could well have stolen away the point that they missed against Chelsea through largely bad luck.
Essentially, it’s no good being ultra-defensive if you then allow a side as good as Manchester City to have such an easy chance early on. The goal put Newcastle on the back foot massively and yet it could easily have been avoided.
#2 Is Sterling’s poor international record down to a lack of service?
Despite England surpassing expectations in this summer’s World Cup by reaching the semi-finals, Raheem Sterling came under more criticism than any other player for his performances for the Three Lions.
At times – despite scaring opposition defenders with his pace and getting into great positions – it seemed that Sterling simply couldn’t score in an England shirt, a massive contrast to his club form as he hit 18 Premier League goals last season.
Sterling has started this season on great form too, and he’s already scored 2 goals for Man City in just three games, including a great finish today. So why does the former Liverpool ace struggle so much for England, when he seemingly finds it so easy to score goals for City?
BT Sport pundits Rio Ferdinand and Jermaine Jenas both came to the same conclusion after the game – that England simply doesn’t offer Sterling the same kind of classy service that his clubmates at City do.
It isn’t so much a tactical issue, more that the Three Lions lack a playmaker in the same class as someone like David Silva, Bernardo Silva or Kevin de Bruyne.
So perhaps it’s time for England fans to stop blaming Sterling for his supposedly poor performances – particularly in front of goal – and simply accept that in the current system, he can’t deliver in the same way as he does for his club.
#3 Are Newcastle in trouble?
In defence of Rafael Benitez’s side, Newcastle has had perhaps the trickiest start to the Premier League season of all of the 20 clubs in the division. In their first four games they’ve already played three of the so-called ‘Big Six’ in Tottenham, Chelsea and now Man City, and so it’s hardly a surprise that they’ve only picked up one point and sit in 18th position.
But pick the situation apart from a little more and it’s hard to come to any other conclusion other than the fact that Newcastle is in deep trouble.
It’s not just defensive performances – the Magpies had just 22% of the possession and 3 shots today – but it’s the fact that there are nasty stories coming out of St. James’ Park right now – stories that suggest Benitez and chairman Mike Ashley aren’t on speaking terms, and that key players like Jamaal Lascelles and Matt Ritchie are having training ground bust-ups.
According to BT Sport today, Newcastle’s whole team that faced City cost a total of around £30m. When sides like Leicester and Bournemouth – supposedly smaller clubs – can spend almost that amount on one player, something is very wrong, even in the out-of-control financial world of football in 2018.
Newcastle clearly have team spirit, judging by today’s showing, and they’ve got a strong manager in Benitez, but until Ashley allows them to up their ambitions, the situation there will continue to look negative.
#4 City miss the incisive passing of Kevin De Bruyne
Last season saw City basically walk their way to the Premier League title, gaining a record number of points in the process. Many fans expected the same again this season despite rivals like Liverpool strengthening somewhat, but that theory appears to be looking a little hard to justify after City’s last two league games.
Pep Guardiola’s side dropped two points last week in a draw with promoted Wolves, and it took Walker’s thunderbolt to allow them to claim all three points today. Not that this was a bad performance – it’s always hard to break such a defensive side down – but despite having the lion’s share of possession and 24 shots, City didn’t really carve out any gilt-edged chances.
The most likely explanation is that they’re missing Belgian pass master Kevin de Bruyne, who was ruled out of action for around three months with a knee injury in mid-August. Sure, they’ve still got world-class playmakers like the two Silvas – David and Bernardo – but even they can’t pick a pass quite as well as KDB, who made 16 assists in the league in 2017/18.
Guardiola has a deep enough squad at City that should probably allow them to get past most Premier League sides without the Belgian, but with big matches against Liverpool and Tottenham coming up in October, the lack of KDB could be the difference that allows one of those rivals to steal the jump on the champions – particularly if they drop any more points against lower, defensive opponents.
#5 Walker’s goal was worthy of winning any game
When you’re faced with an overmatched but tremendously determined opponent – as City were today – sometimes you just need a bit of magic to allow you to pull through. It’s the kind of thing that separates a good player from a world-class player and can separate a title challenging side from the eventual champions.
Today, City had that bit of magic and it came from an unexpected source. Some observers were stunned last summer when Guardiola parted with around £54m to bring Kyle Walker into the fold from Tottenham, but by the end of the season, the general consensus was that the right-back had acted as one of the missing pieces at City and played a large role in their Premier League dominance.
Despite playing in 32 of City’s Premier League games though, Walker was never able to find the back of the net. That all changed today. A sweet bit of interplay from Raheem Sterling and Sergio Aguero found Walker free around 30 yards out, and he took one touch before firing a right-footed thunderbolt low into the bottom right-hand corner.
It was the kind of shot that you knew was going in as soon as it’d left the player’s boot – the kind of shot no goalkeeper in the world would’ve stopped. In a match that saw City struggle to carve out true chances, this was a goal worthy of winning any game, and Walker probably won’t score a better one in his career in Manchester.
