NEWCASTLE'S HARVEY BARNES STUNS MAN CITY, DELIVERS MASSIVE BLOW TO TITLE ASPIRATIONS
Newcastle beat Man City 2-1 in a controversial Premier League clash at St James' Park. Harvey Barnes scored twice, with the winner standing after a lengthy VAR check, leaving Pep Guardiola furious.
Barnes' second-half goal at St. James' Park gave Pep Guardiola's squad the initial setback before Ruben Dias secured an equalizer for the visiting team.
Shortly after Dias' levelling goal, Barnes successfully scored a contested second goal for Newcastle, which, following an extended VAR examination for a possible offside involving Bruno Guimaraes, was ultimately validated.
Guardiola expressed his displeasure concerning a penalty appeal made by Phil Foden during the first half as well.
Following their fourth league loss of the season, City fell to third position in the standings, trailing Arsenal, who are in first place and will play Tottenham on Sunday, by four points.
Guardiola stated that it was too early in the week to discuss the championship race, yet the City manager will certainly be very disappointed to have missed the opportunity to put pressure on Arsenal.
After defeating struggling defending champions Liverpool 3-0 before the international break, City had won seven of their eight games across all leagues.
However, they lost that momentum in an error-filled performance on Tyneside as Erling Haaland, in his 21st game for City and Norway this year, failed to score for just the third occasion.
Haaland was aiming to record his 100th league goal in what would have been his 109th appearance since joining from Borussia Dortmund in 2022.
Nevertheless, he squandered several opportunities, and Newcastle seized the chance to defeat City for the second time in the previous 36 league encounters.
Eddie Howe's initial victory over City in 19 Premier League matches lessened the disappointment of Newcastle's consecutive league losses against West Ham and Brentford leading up to the international break.
City's goalkeeper, Gianluigi Donnarumma, nearly gifted Newcastle the advantage within the first 30 seconds with a terrible pass that Barnes intercepted, but the winger squandered the opportunity by shooting straight at the Italian from 10 yards.
Profligate City
Haaland was equally responsible for an awful miss moments later, awkwardly failing to chip the ball over Nick Pope after the Newcastle keeper responded to Jeremy Doku's pass by rushing recklessly from his goal area.
Newcastle's opening goal was prevented by Donnarumma, who made an excellent save to deny Nick Woltemade's header from Tino Livramento's pass.
Foden fired wide from a promising spot within the box before unsuccessfully requesting a penalty after Fabian Schar left him in agony with a strong tackle during the same play.
Foden and the City coaching staff were angered by the ruling, and their annoyance grew when Jacob Murphy avoided giving up a penalty after using his arm to block Doku's shot.
Donnarumma prevailed in a different struggle against Woltemade as he turned aside the German's strike following his breakaway towards goal.
In a half marked by poor finishing, Barnes committed the worst blunder by failing to shoot on target from close range when the goal was undefended.
Even Haaland was off his game, flicking Nico O'Reilly's cross right at Pope from only five yards.
Remarkably, the unmarked Foden made an even worse error, dragging his shot wide from Rayan Cherki's pass just before halftime.
Barnes redeemed himself for prior errors by scoring a fantastic goal in the 64th minute, giving City the decisive breakthrough; his well-placed, ground-level shot from just outside the box bypassed Donnarumma, thanks to Guimaraes' incisive run and pass that unlocked the opposing team's back line.
Guardiola's squad was only behind for a brief period of four minutes.
Silva's attempt was stopped, sending the ball in Dias' direction, and the Portuguese defender's strong shot from about 11 meters took a deflection off Schar and went into the net.
Nevertheless, Howe's team immediately responded to Dias's first league goal since his score at Newcastle four years prior.
When Woltemade directed his header across the face of the goal, Guimaraes' header hit the crossbar, and Barnes was there to put the loose ball into the net with a volley.
The extended VAR review to check if Guimaraes was offside initially looked to be in City's advantage but ultimately favoured Newcastle, leading to enthusiastic celebrations from the Magpies supporters commemorating a noteworthy triumph.
EDDIE HOWE CONFIRMS NEWCASTLE LINEUP SHIFTS ARE PART OF A MAJOR FUTURE STRATEGY
Eddie Howe confirms he is picking Newcastle lineups with next season in mind, trialling players like Ramsey and Woltemade early.
Newcastle United head coach Eddie Howe isn’t pretending he’s already thinking about next season. People have been saying Kieran Trippier is close to triggering a payment if he plays more games, so that might influence whether he features again before the season ends. But Howe brushed that off and said he’s making his decisions purely for football reasons.
Talking to reporters at the City Ground about why Anthony Gordon was missing, Howe admitted he’s picking his lineup with the future in mind. Later, in his press conference, he went into more detail about focusing on what comes next at St James’ Park.
"We’re definitely looking ahead," Howe said. "You can see it in some of the choices I’m making with the team. I want to get a look at some players and see how they might grow into the squad."
One of those players is Jacob Ramsey, who came off the bench, set up Harvey Barnes with a great pass, and really changed the game. "I thought Jacob Ramsey was brilliant when he came on against Forest. He really made a difference, and so did Harvey. It’s good to see players taking their chances," Howe said.
He added, "We have to be thinking about the future now and what the team’s going to look like next year. That’s our responsibility at this point."
Before the match, Howe surprised a lot of fans by starting Lewis Hall at right-back, Nick Woltemade in midfield, and pushing Joelinton further forward than usual. Again, Howe explained he wants to see what players can do in different positions.
"It wasn’t some huge change from Brighton; we kept the same shape," Howe said. "But for Nick, this was only one of a few times he’s started in that role for us. He played alongside Will, and they haven’t had much time together either.
"There were positives for Nick, but he wasn’t involved as much as we wanted in the first half. We still need to see his best on the ball. In the second half, though, I thought we got better as a team. We attacked more and looked like a real threat as the match wore on."
MAGPIES EYE £1M BARGAIN TIAGO GABRIEL TO SOLVE GROWING DEFENSIVE INJURY CRISIS
Newcastle are leading the race against Juventus for Tiago Gabriel, the 21-year-old Serie A defensive sensation.
Newcastle United appear to be keeping an eye on Lecce’s young defender Tiago Gabriel as they consider potential options for the summer transfer window.
With Fabian Schar’s contract due to expire at the end of June, the Magpies are preparing for the possibility of his departure. Although an extension is still on the table, Schar has been sidelined since early January because of an ankle injury and doesn't seem close to making a comeback.
At 21, Gabriel has featured 36 times across all competitions this season for Lecce, who are currently four points clear of the Serie A relegation zone. Newcastle’s recruitment team is among those following his development, seemingly interested in exploring a move once the transfer window opens.
Back in December, reports surfaced that both West Ham and Juventus were also tracking Gabriel’s progress. The young defender, who came through Sporting CP’s academy, has had a strong season and will enter the final year of his contract this summer.
Gabriel transferred to Lecce last January for slightly over £1 million, moving from Portuguese club Estrela Amadora. Should he leave this summer, a significantly higher fee might be expected, reflecting his rise in form.
Before joining Estrela Amadora, Gabriel had been part of Setúbal's academy after leaving Sporting in 2020. His performances have earned him regular appearances for Portugal’s Under-21 side, and senior international opportunities may not be far off.
A switch to the Premier League could potentially boost his profile substantially, but he will likely weigh his options with some care.
According to O Jogo, Newcastle continue to monitor his situation keenly as interest around the defender grows.
Regarding Fabian Schar’s future, things remain uncertain even with just weeks left on his current deal. While Kieran Trippier has been publicly confirmed to be leaving upon contract expiration, no similar announcement has come for Schar.
Last week, Howe commented on the defender’s status, noting that no definitive decision has been made yet. He emphasised Schar’s value to the team, pointing out his unique role as a ball-playing defender and his versatility in various defensive setups.
Schar’s influence on the pitch and experience are clearly appreciated, and the club hopes he can regain full fitness before the season concludes. As for any new contract talks, Howe suggested it’s a matter of waiting to see how things unfold.
