Fabulous Phil Foden was on target again as Manchester City beat Newcastle 2-0 at the Etihad on Saturday lunchtime.
City's winger took his recent tally to four goals in three games just 15 minutes into the contest, gliding past at least three Newcastle defenders before Sven Botman diverted his close-range shot beyond Nick Pope. "It was a brilliant action from Phil," purred City boss Pep Guardiola afterwards.
Newcastle had their moments at the other end, with Sean Longstaff's shot blocked and Callum Wilson miscuing in the first half before subs Joe Willock and Alexander Isak threatened after the break but it was Bernardo Silva who stepped off the bench to score the decisive second goal (67) for the hosts.
The clean sheet was Ederson's 100th in the Premier League and it briefly moved the champions to within two points of Arsenal at the top of the table, before the Gunners' dramatic come-from-behind 3-2 win over Bournemouth at the Emirates later on Saturday afternoon.
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Newcastle had been unbeaten in their last eight away games but their poor record at Man City continues. They have never won in the league at this stadium and, less than a week on from their Carabao Cup final defeat to Man Utd, their 14th Premier League loss on the spin at the Etihad has dealt a blow to their top-four hopes.
Newcastle remain four points off fourth-placed Tottenham with two games in hand, but with no win in their last five Premier League games and just two goals in those fixtures, the worry for boss Eddie Howe will be his side's wastefulness in front of goal is causing them to drop away.
How Man City secured victory
Newcastle arrived with the best defence in the division but no away side has kept a clean sheet in a Premier League game at the Etihad this season and City were immediately on the front foot, with Ilkay Gundogan heading onto the roof of the net from a Jack Grealish cross inside a minute.
Within 15 minutes they were ahead - and it was wonderful play from Foden. The 22-year-old skipped away from a series of Newcastle players as he drove into the box and when Botman deflected his shot there was no hope for Pope. The strike takes Foden to nine Premier League goals this season - the joint-best tally he's reached in a campaign.
Newcastle almost responded immediately but Longstaff delayed a fraction too long and Nathan Ake made a crucial block. There would be a second big moment in the City box in the first half, with Wilson badly miscuing just before the break.
In between, there was wave after wave of City attack, with Jamaal Lascelles - thrown in for his first Premier League start since August - blocking from Erling Haaland and Botman denying Foden another before Haaland headed woefully wide when he looked primed to score.
Newcastle made a steady start to the second half, though, and a triple change from Howe on 62 minutes almost had an instant impact, with sub Joe Willock whizzing the ball through the six-yard box and Joelinton just unable to connect. Moments later Ruben Dias and Ederson had to block from another new arrival, Alexander Isak.
But it was ultimately a City change that made the difference, Bernardo Silva converting just two minutes and 10 seconds after stepping onto the pitch. Haaland shuttled the ball onto him and the Portuguese's touch and finish will go down as City's 1000th Premier League goal.
A heavyweight clash between Haaland and Dan Burn had the fans on their feet soon after, with the Norwegian stepping in after the latest instance of rough treatment for Jack Grealish, but the fight fizzled out of Newcastle's response from then on.
To compound their problems, midfielder Joelinton is facing a two-game ban after receiving his 10th yellow card of the season, but their big issue is up top and hitting the net. Something Premier League top scorers Man City are finding easy at the moment.
100 clean sheets for Ederson
Guardiola: An incredibly good result in a tricky game
Man City boss Pep Guardiola: "They had their chances to score goals. It's Newcastle. It's an exceptional team. They were in the final of the Carabao Cup one week ago and have been top four or top five, what do you expect to happen?
"We played a really good first half and after the game went up and down we put Bernardo on to make our possessions longer, we needed to keep more of the ball. It's part of his intuition to do high pressing…
"An incredibly good result for us because it was a tricky game. Now we have three games in different competitions before the international break which will define our season."
Howe: We were competitive but must take our chances
Newcastle boss Eddie Howe: "Our overall performance in all three games [against Liverpool, Man Utd and Man City] has been very good, high-level games, we've gone toe-to-toe in all those games. We've been beaten in all three but that's probably a harsh reflection.
"We were competitive today, we had our chances and we didn't take them and City did. If you're still creating chances, I'll back the players over the long term we will start scoring again. We need to as the confidence of the team is dependent on it.
"When you lose such a huge game [the Carabao Cup final], naturally there's a disappointment in the group. But I don't think you saw a team wallowing in self-pity. You saw a team very brave, very aggressive and very much in that game."
Opta stats - City beat Newcastle again
- Manchester City have won 14 consecutive Premier League home games against Newcastle; no team have ever had a longer such run against an opponent in the competition.
- Manchester City have scored in 29 consecutive Premier League games against Newcastle, the longest ever scoring run for one team against another in the competition's history.
- Manchester City saw just three of their 11 shots hit the target (27%), their fewest in a Premier League home win since February 2021 against West Ham (also 3).
- At 22 years and 280 days old, Phil Foden (33 goals, 17 assists) became the youngest player to reach 50 Premier League goal involvements for Manchester City.
- Manchester City's Ederson kept his 100th clean sheet in the Premier League (208th appearance), the third-quickest a goalkeeper has reached this milestone after Petr Cech (180 games) and Pepe Reina (198 games).
What's next?
Manchester City travel to Crystal Palace in the Premier League next Saturday at 5.30pm, live on Sky Sports, before hosting RB Leipzig in the second leg of their Champions League last-16 tie on March 14 at 8pm. The first leg in Germany ended in a 1-1 draw. They then face Burnley in the FA Cup quarter-finals on March 18.
Up next for Newcastle is a Premier League home match against Wolves next Sunday at 4.30pm, live on Sky Sports. Eddie Howe's side then travel to Nottingham Forest on March 17 at 8pm, also live on Sky Sports.