At St. James’ Park, Anthony Gordon’s penalty kick in the second half gave Newcastle a point while holding Manchester City to a draw.
After 35 minutes, City defender Josko Gvardiol had given the visitors the lead with a deft finish after Jack Grealish’s layoff.
But even though Mateo Kovacic and Rico Lewis worked well together to substitute for the important Rodri, who will miss the remainder of the campaign due to a knee injury, City ultimately gave in just after the half when Newcastle had their strongest moment of the match.
Gordon was played onside by Kyle Walker after Bruno Guimaraes made a brilliant pass through the City defense, and Ederson challenged the England striker.
Gordon maintained his composure to send the Brazilian packing when Ederson was booked.
Ilkay Gundogan missed a chip attempt when he was far out of his goal after Newcastle keeper Nick Pope gave City a clear.
This meant that Pep Guardiola’s team should have been ahead by more at the half. Both teams made an effort to tie the score; in stoppage time, Bernardo Silva put Nick Pope to the test, and Sean Longstaff of Newcastle came dangerously close for the home team.
The Magpies have yet to secure a victory in their thirty-four league encounters against City, who have conceded four points in a week following their unbeaten opening to the season.
Guardiola said earlier this week that Rodri is vital. In all likelihood, that is accurate. But not all of the City team’s players receive the same level of attention as the player who led Spain to victory and was named the Euro 2024 player of the tournament.
There are other players in the team that are extremely important. Guardiola turned to two men to steady the ship earlier this month when his team was lucky to be ahead at halftime against Brentford, who could have easily won the game.
Rodri was one of them. It was Gvardiol the other. Since then, the Croatian defender hasn’t missed a single minute of action in the Champions League or Premier League.
Ten minutes before halftime, Gvardiol was given a shooting opportunity by Grealish, and he clinically finished in the bottom corner.
Many will blame Rodri’s absence for the fact that it didn’t end up being the winner. That would be overly easy.
Due to their deficiencies in midfield, City was not held. They did a good job all around. However, the opposition had some strong players as well today.
Many banners honoring Gordon, who announced prior to the game that he is set to sign a new long-term contract that will solidify his position as one of his club’s highest earners, were unfurled around St. James’ Park as the teams emerged.
It seems strange that Newcastle spoke with Liverpool earlier in the summer to see if they were interested in the former Everton player, but that is the way of the modern game as teams attempt to work around complex financial regulations.
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