Harvey Barnes's brace secured a 2-1 victory for Newcastle United over Manchester City at their home ground, St. James’ Park.

Following a 2-1 triumph against Manchester City, a team contending for the title, Newcastle United got back on the winning track in the Premier League.

Before this game, Eddie Howe’s team had suffered consecutive away losses to West Ham United and Brentford, which had them sitting just above the relegation zone in the Premier League.

However, the Magpies delivered a perfect response to claim only their second Premier League victory over Man City in the past two decades.

Harvey Barnes scored twice, initially breaking the deadlock in the 63rd minute and then restoring Newcastle’s lead just two minutes after Ruben Dias had levelled the score for the visiting side.

In the build-up to Barnes’s decisive goal, Bruno Guimaraes directed a header onto the crossbar, and the winger was well-positioned to convert the rebound. VAR conducted a review for a potential offside involving Guimaraes, but after a prolonged examination, the goal was deemed legitimate.

City’s goalkeeper, Gianluigi Donnarumma, also believed he was fouled during the play, but the goal was allowed to stand.

Pep Guardiola Discloses What He Said to Bruno Guimaraes After the Final Whistle
However, Guardiola’s conversation with the Brazilian was not related to his footballing skills but rather to the incident involving Donnarumma during the second goal.

Guardiola stated, “Yes, I inquired about what occurred between Gigi and him. And yes, everything is alright.”

"This occurred in the match against Bournemouth, and it happened again today," Guardiola added. “It is what it is after VAR made its decision. They are fully aware."

Reflecting on the game's outcome, Guardiola commented, "Newcastle is a high-quality team, with excellent players and a top manager, so unfortunately, we couldn't sustain the momentum we had tonight. It was a captivating game, with opportunities for both sides, but the momentum shifted, and in the end, we couldn't secure the win.

"Both goalkeepers performed well, and we missed chances after that. It was an engaging game with many scoring opportunities. We were closer to winning in the initial stages. "

Eddie Howe Shares His Thoughts on Newcastle United’s Victory Over Man City
Howe commented, “We are thrilled with today’s win. When you compare the heart, effort, and attitude we showed today to our performance against Brentford, where we appeared tired and uninspired, it represents a significant improvement in how we typically play. This will provide us with a substantial boost during what will be a challenging Premier League season this year. This should provide us with a boost for the upcoming games.

"Regardless of your chosen strategy, Manchester City will create opportunities. Within the first 30 seconds, Harvey had a chance to score, highlighting the precarious situation we faced at times today. It is difficult to keep Haaland quiet for the entire 98 minutes. "

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.