Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City overcame Rafa Benitez’s Newcastle 2-1 this evening with defending champions City moving into 3rd place in the Premier League table.
Raheem Sterling opened the scoring for City in only the 8th minute of the matchup on what was his 100th Premier League appearance for the Citizens.
DeAndre Yedlin capped off a great counter-attack, showcasing his lighting speed to finish the move in great fashion.
The American full-back scoring with his signature speed playing a pivotal part was poetic justice to Manchester City as the first half closed 1-1.
The goal was Yedlin’s first ever Premier League goal and the first by an American since March of 2014.
52 minutes into the game another full-back was on the scoresheet this time Manchester City’s Kyle Walker gave City the lead with a thunderous strike – one of the best of full-backs illustrious career to date.
Newcastle United fans can be happy with a valiant effort.
Benitez’s use of 5 defenders against top sides like City and also Chelsea last week has worked very well and Newcastle are unlucky to come away from both games with no points to show for their efforts.
Kyle Walker’s spectacular strike came early in the second half and the Magpies just couldn’t create enough chances to get back into the game unfortunately for the Toon fans.
Player Ratings:
Manchester City:
Ederson 6, Walker 8, Stones 6, Laporte 6, Mendy 6, Mahrez 5, Fernandinho 7, David Silva 7, Sterling 9, Aguero 8, Jesus 6.
Subs:
Bernardo Silva 7 (for Jesus 58) , Gundogan not enough time to make an impact (for Mahrez 76), Kompany only a short cameo at the end of the game (for D.Silva 89).
Newcastle United:
Dúbravka 9, Yedlin 8, Lascelles 6, Clark 6, Fernandez 7, Dummet 7, Kenedy 5, Diame 6, Ki 6, Perez 6, Rondon 7.
Subs:
Atsu 5 (for Kenedy 54), Joselu 5 (for Rondon 73), Murphy thrown on too late to make an impact (for Clark 81).
Special mention: Martin Dúbravka was on hand to deny City on several occasions and was a key factor in the scoreline not being a lot harsher on the Magpies.
City Special mention: Raheem Sterling was particularly impressive in what was his landmark 100th appearance for Manchester City in the Premier League.
Raheem Sterling's game by numbers vs. Newcastle:
84 touches
53 (87%) passes completed
4 tackles won
3 shots
2 chances created
1 clearance
1 goalA top performance. pic.twitter.com/dlOzIcCiAo
— Squawka Football (@Squawka) September 1, 2018
See More: These fans call for City ace to be dropped following unflattering 1st half showing
Manchester City are unbeaten in their first four Premier League fixtures this campaign – winning 3 and drawing 1 so far.
City’s performances so far see the defending champions sit in 3rd place in the Premier League with title rivals Liverpool and Chelsea ahead of them after accruing 4 victories from their opening 4 games.
It is far too early to call which side will come out on top come the end of the season.