As the supporters of Newcastle United ambled by Alan Shearer's monument before the commencement of the match at St. James' Park, the unwelcome twist of fate would have crossed their minds, with the potential scenario of witnessing one of their icons' scoring accomplishments being surpassed in his own territory.

A goal scored by Erling Haaland in the northeast would have superseded Shearer as the quickest player to attain 100 goals in the annals of the Premier League. The Norwegian is destined to seize this record sooner rather than later, having 14 remaining opportunities to achieve it, but the fact that he did not seize it here is substantially why Manchester City was unsuccessful in amplifying the pressure on Arsenal in anticipation of the North London showdown.

A monument of Haaland will likely be erected outside the Etihad one day, but when he reflects upon his tenure with City, this match will be one he wishes to forget. He was presented with three opportunities to achieve his Premier League century. All three times, he was unsuccessful in doing so. Two of these instances were the kind of opportunities he has been eagerly capitalising on this season.

Conversely, this match served as an unwelcome and jarring reminder of the ramifications when Haaland fails to score. The city suffers a loss. He was kept at bay by a Premier League team for the fourth occasion this season, and on the third occasion, it resulted in a defeat for his squad.

Haaland bears a significant portion of the goal-scoring responsibility in this team. The weight of the pressure is unlikely to impede him, given that he recently guided Norway to its first World Cup appearance in 28 years, but this was a costly day off.

Ruben Dias assumed the mantle of goal scorer, unleashing a powerful shot from a corner into the net, thereby levelling the score for the Blues after Harvey Barnes's opening goal. He became the ninth distinct Premier League goal scorer for City this season, but Haaland remains the sole player to have scored more than one goal.

If Pep Guardiola's team had been defensively sound, a goal from a central defender might have sufficed, but they never exhibited any semblance of control at St. James' Park. This was a chaotic affair, precisely the kind of match Guardiola despises because they are equally susceptible to being lost as they are to being won.

Dias's goal was bookended by two goals from Barnes during a frenzied seven-minute period that encapsulated the essence of the game. The initial goal transpired after a poor clearance by Nico O'Reilly failed to address the impending danger, but the execution from 20 yards was impeccable.

The second goal was scored from a set piece that City failed to clear. Gianluigi Donnarumma was incensed at not being awarded a foul from the corner and received a booking for his demonstration before becoming embroiled in a heated exchange with Newcastle assistant Jason Tindall.

The fiery pair kept up their heated argument even after the final whistle. Donnarumma gave Tindall a frosty glare after Tindall brushed him off with a casual hand gesture, and Donnarumma looked ready to explode. Not far away, Pep Guardiola and Bruno Guimaraes were wrapped up in their own argument.

It was clear that City was very frustrated, which showed how much they missed out on a great chance. They could have made the title race more interesting in November by getting within a point of Arsenal. Instead, the Gunners now have an opportunity to take back control of the story.

This was the kind of ending that everyone expected from this match. At halftime, the main question was how the game was still tied at zero. Barnes could have scored within the first half-minute after Newcastle took advantage of a bad pass from Donnarumma, but Barnes gave the Italian a straightforward opportunity to make amends.

That opening moment set the tone for a game that was as wild and fun as a Saturday night in Newcastle's bustling Bigg Market. Donnarumma mentioned this week that he was enjoying how intense life is in the Premier League, so he must have felt very comfortable in this game.

Nick Woltemade had scored with each of his first six shots that hit the goal in the Premier League, and when he headed Tino Livramento's cross, he must have thought he would score a seventh, but the towering Italian goalie blocked it. Shortly after, Donnarumma did it again, but Haaland couldn't capitalise on the rebound at the opposite end.

He let Nick Pope get away with running out of his goal area about 15 yards early in the game, and then he shot the ball right at the goalie from eight yards out on his first attempt. Phil Foden missed another obvious chance after a well-executed move by City, and he should have gotten a penalty when Fabian Schar fouled him.

The feeling of unfairness would stay, but the excitement was just getting started.

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