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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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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A goal scored by Erling Haaland in the northeast would have superseded Shearer as the quickest player to attain 100 goals in the annals of the Premier League.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.
WHY DECEMBER 2025 WAS PEP GUARDIOLA’S MOST "STATISTICALLY PERFECT" MONTH EVER
Pep Guardiola’s "most impressive month" is over. Read why Man City are now favourites to snatch the 2026 Premier League title.
It's tough to say how the 2025/26 team will stack up against Pep Guardiola's other squads from his decade at the Etihad. They've shown a lot of potential six months into the season, but trophies aren't a sure thing yet.
Still, December 2025 definitely stands out as a crazy good month in Guardiola's 95-month tenure. It's not just that the Blues are doing well in the Premier League and Champions League, but where they got those wins.
Winning at Fulham, Real Madrid, Crystal Palace, and Nottingham Forest in a single month is quite the feat. Craven Cottage might not be the scariest place, but it's a long trip for a midweek game. Plus, the other three teams have been a pain for City in recent years.
Guardiola might not be thrilled with how they won—he wants them to be consistent for the entire match and for his young players to really show who they are all the time. But getting wins at those stadiums will help his players learn as they go. Once you’ve won at the Bernabeu, not many places can intimidate you, and the Forest win was huge because City lost there badly nine months prior.
City has totally answered questions about their away game performance this season. They lost three of their four league games—against Brighton, Villa, and Newcastle—on the road. They also messed up at Monaco in the Champions League after a bad second half when they should have won. Erling Haaland was mad and stormed off after the final whistle.
Those worries are gone after a month that was one of City's best ever away from home, statistically speaking. The last time City won all their away games in a month was in early 2024/25. Before that, you’d have to go back almost two years to February 2024 to find a month where they won four.
That February 2024 team was on its way to winning a fourth straight Premier League title and reaching the FA Cup Final. Before that, it was December 2021. City never won four away games in a month during their treble season, for instance.
Part of that is just how the schedule works—there aren't always four away games in a month. And once April and May roll around, if City is still in the FA Cup, they play at a neutral site. Still, it's amazing how good their December was, picking up so many good results from tough places.
That changes things as they head into another tough month with four more away games. They're at Sunderland on New Year's Day (who haven't lost at home in the Premier League this season), then at Newcastle for the first leg of their league cup semi-final, knowing they lost there recently and haven't won there in two years.
A few days later, it's the Manchester derby, followed by a trip to Bodo as they try to finish in the top eight in the first stage of the Champions League. City has done pretty well at Old Trafford lately, but derbies are always tense. And a plastic field in the Arctic Circle doesn't sound easy.
But City can go into these games feeling more confident after the December they just had. No matter how much the home teams try to rattle them, Guardiola’s improving squad has proven they can get results anywhere. They’ll see the first game of the year in the Northeast as a chance to really show what they want to accomplish in 2026.
OFFICIAL REPORT: RODRI RETURNS AS MANCHESTER CITY EXTEND DOMINANT EIGHT-MATCH WINNING STREAK
Rodri returns as Manchester City extends its winning run to eight games. Discover how the Club World Cup saved City's season.
It felt right having Rodri back. Pep Guardiola talked more openly than before about how good the Club World Cup was for Manchester City. He'd said it could be a disaster for the team. Now, they see it as what got them back on track.
At the end of June, he said, The main thing is to get back to our old selves. That's my goal for this competition. I want them to feel like we're back to being competitive, like we have for most of the last decade. Then we'll see.
We'll see after the final. We'll rest as much as the Premier League allows. Maybe it'll be awful in the winter. Maybe we'll be tired, and the World Cup will have messed us up. I don't know; we've never done this before. We'll find out when we get back.
The good from the Club World Cup wasn't clear right away. City played alright against Juventus, but then had a tough loss against Al Hilal in the last 16. Plus, Rodri hurt his hamstring on a bad field during that loss, which messed up his recovery from his ACL injury.
In September, Rodri started three games in a week against United, Napoli, and Arsenal. That wore him out, and he soon got another hamstring issue at Brentford, keeping him out for about ten weeks.
It might not be fair, but it doesn't seem like the Club World Cup helped Rodri get better. His being back in the team at the City Ground hints at a better second half of the season.
When he's back on the field, he'll join a team that's figured out how to win and fight for the league title without him. City has won their last eight games in a row in all competitions. Their longest streak since winning the Club World Cup. Guardiola mentions that the team has rediscovered the identity he wanted.
Despite worrying about the tournament and the problems that came up, FIFA's power move has given City a chance to reset, which they really needed to get back to full strength.
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