Harvey Barnes stole the headlines as Newcastle secured a 2-0 victory over Manchester City, ending a 20-year wait for a Newcastle player to score twice against City in a Premier League match—a feat last achieved by Alan Shearer in November 2003.
City had hoped to close the gap on league leaders Arsenal, who won’t play until Sunday, after picking up two points before the international break. Pep Guardiola kept the same starting XI for a third consecutive Premier League match—the first time he has done so since August-September 2021—looking to build momentum.
The game started at a frantic pace, with both sides creating multiple clear-cut chances. Erling Haaland saw an early opportunity blocked by Newcastle goalkeeper Nick Pope, and Nick Woltemade was denied by Gianluigi Donnarumma. On 30 minutes, Barnes missed a simple chance from Jacob Murphy’s cross, before Haaland fired straight at Pope moments later. Phil Foden then squandered arguably the best chance of the half.
Despite seven big chances in the first 45 minutes (four for Newcastle, three for City) and a combined 2.59 expected goals (1.18 for Newcastle, 1.41 for City), the score remained goalless at halftime. It marked the most big chances in a goalless first half since 2010-11 and the second-highest non-penalty xG in a Premier League first half without goals since 2012-13.
Newcastle broke the deadlock in the second half as Barnes turned in a spectacular performance, scoring twice to secure a memorable win and leave City frustrated.
