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MAN CITY VS. NEWCASTLE: PEP GUARDIOLA CALLS IT A 'MUST-WIN'

Pep Guardiola plays down Man City's title talk despite the chance to go one point behind Arsenal with a win at Newcastle. He warns, "nothing is decided in November" as the busy schedule begins.

Man City vs. Newcastle: Pep Guardiola Calls It A 'Must-Win'
Guardiola Focuses On Tough Newcastle Clash

This Saturday, the Manchester City team will try to pass Arsenal to be the best team in the Premier League; winning against Newcastle might make them only one point behind.

Even though they might be able to move up, the team's leader, Pep Guardiola, really thinks it's too early to start thinking about winning the title.

City will get a chance to put some stress on the other team when they play at Newcastle's field, because Arsenal, who are in first place right now, won't play until they play Tottenham on Sunday.

The current champions have done really well against Newcastle in the past, winning 28 of the last 35 games they played, while only losing one.

Guardiola has been trying to keep people from getting too excited about how the points add up after his team won against Liverpool by a score of 3-0 when the international break started; many people thought this win was very important in the fight for the title.

Guardiola mentioned that we're only in November, and in this league, nothing is decided for sure in November.

He added that we should wait and see what happens around February or March. However, the season has now started, with the first part beginning in the summer when teams can buy and sell players. Then, it starts again when the international break ends.

He continued, noting that they will be playing games every three days until March, so the real season has now begun. He emphasised that it's really important to be in a good position and have the chance to compete at the end of the season. For them, he said, winning in Newcastle would be a big deal.

Star player Erling Haaland has scored 99 Premier League goals in just 108 games since he joined City in 2022, going into Saturday's game.

On the former England captain's home field, Haaland is close to beating Alan Shearer's record for the fastest player to score 100 goals, which is currently 124 games.

After scoring 16 goals in eight games, Haaland continued his great performance during the international break, scoring four more goals and helping Norway get into their first World Cup since 1998.

Guardiola stated that Haaland is doing great this season and is breaking all kinds of records, including those for Norway, the Premier League, and his own personal records. He stated that he and his national team have his respect.

He noticed that a lot of the players on Norway's team weren't even born when the country last played in the World Cup. He deserves to play in a World Cup and have that experience as a really good player. Guardiola is very happy for him.

Rodri, who plays in the middle for Spain, will still not be playing this weekend as he is still getting back in shape after a recent problem.

Since being taken out of the game against Brentford on October 5, the only time he has played is when he came in for a short time as a substitute against Bournemouth earlier this month.

Guardiola confirmed that Rodri is improving. He noted that the last time Rodri had a setback was almost three weeks ago. He knows that to stay healthy from now until the end, he needs to take the necessary time to get better both physically and mentally from his problems.

PEP GUARDIOLA'S TIRADE SUMS CITY'S DISAPPOINTING NIGHT

Man City's title chase stumbles as Erling Haaland's record chase fails at St James' Park. A costly defeat to Newcastle reveals City's reliance on their star striker and the defensive frailties that cost them vital points.

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Newcastle United beat Manchester City 2-1 in the Premier League

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.

GUARDIOLA NAMES 'SPECIAL' NEWCASTLE STAR HE WANTED; HAILS BRUNO GUIMARãES

Pep Guardiola reveals he is a "big fan" of Newcastle's Bruno Guimaraes ahead of Man City's trip to St James' Park. The Brazilian was linked with a City move, with his £100m release clause a key talking point last summer.

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Bruno Guimarães: The Only Newcastle Player Guardiola Truly Loves

Before the summer 2024 transfer period, there was talk that Bruno Guimaraes might go to Manchester City.

Pep Guardiola has said that he really likes Bruno Guimaraes, who is the team leader for Newcastle United.

Later today, the Magpies will play Manchester City at home in a very important Premier League game. Because Newcastle is in 14th place, the game is even more crucial after losing to West Ham United and Brentford.

After easily beating Liverpool 3-0 in their last game, City is doing well and will be a tough opponent for Eddie Howe's team. If Newcastle plays well, St. James' Park will be very loud with fans during the evening game at this time of year.


Pep Guardiola: "A big fan"


Guardiola mentioned that he likes Guimaraes, the Toon's team leader, adding something extra to the game. He had said good things about Guimaraes before a 2024 FA Cup game.

The Brazilian player was thought to be joining Man City before the summer transfer window. Guimaraes ended up staying where he was, even though he had a release clause of £100 million that everyone knew about.

Guardiola said this about Guimaraes before today's game, "I have always really liked Bruno." You can see that he is a special player since he was playing in Lyon. Newcastle made a great signing.

He is greatly respected there. Each season, these players get better, join the national team, and keep getting better. I have always thought very highly of him.

Bruno Guimaraes on the commendation of Pep Guardiola


"Of course, knowing that Manchester City has ideas about me shows that I am very good, but it was just talk," I mentioned during an interview last year.

"I know that Guardiola likes the way I play; it's normal for great coaches to admire your game. After the interview, we had a short talk where I said good things about his work, and he said good things about mine.

Eddie Howe on Bruno Guimaraes' "special"


"I've talked about Bruno a lot, but the player and the person together make him very special," Howe told reporters last month when he was asked about his team leader. He is always there for us, showing his desire, his drive to succeed, and his will to win. He always gets ready to play in a very professional way.

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