Man City, reigning champions, reinforced their supremacy by prevailing over a determined Newcastle United squad once touted as contenders for the title.
Julian Alvarez's remarkable first-half goal upheld City's ongoing Premier League triumphs this season. Despite Newcastle's relentless efforts, their offensive prowess remained notably subdued throughout the game.
In the absence of Kevin de Bruyne, sidelined for six months due to hamstring surgery, Phil Foden illuminated the field with his creativity, orchestrating Alvarez's goal and sparking opportunities after halftime. Even as Newcastle matched City's midfield vigor and ruffled the home crowd with their robust tactics, their ability to attack came up short.
In a surprising twist following their five-goal spectacle against Aston Villa at the season's start, Newcastle found it challenging to deliver shots on target. Their inaugural significant attempt arrived in the 70th minute via substitute Harvey Barnes, testing Ederson from a distance. Despite a late surge, Newcastle struggled to engineer decisive chances beyond that juncture.
Manchester City defender Manuel Akanji speaking to TNT Sports: "It felt amazing. Newcastle are a great team and it wasn’t easy against them. We did a good job. With the game in Greece, the recovery was not as planned and it’s still early but showed a great game today.
"Always as defender it is good to keep a clean sheet. With the ball we played great. Overall we did great and I can’t remember 100% any chance of theirs. With John Stones' injury, I had two or three training sessions in there and I’m starting to feel pretty comfortable now but I think it’s the fifth position I’ve played in this team now.
"Phil [Foden] is so good with his back to goal. He moves between the spaces as we saw again today and I hope he continues doing it this season."
Manchester City have won all 17 competitive home fixtures in 2023, a new club record under Guardiola's reign.
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