Manchester City dropped their first points of the Premier League season on Sunday as they played out a six-goal thriller with Newcastle.
Pep Guardiola's side took an early lead at St James' Park courtesy of an Ilkay Gundogan strike, but they had to battle back from 3-1 down in the second half to rescue a point. City were well below their best for much of the contest, with their defence looking alarmingly shaky and disorganised.
There were positives to be had - such as a poacher's finish from Erling Haaland and some moments of brilliance from Kevin de Bruyne - but on the whole City will be frustrated. Here are some key moments from the game.
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The importance of being Ake
Everything was going rather well for City until Nathan Ake went off through injury after 21 minutes. Ruben Dias replaced him and partnered John Stones, but City looked all over the place at the back from there on in.
Stones looked like he hadn’t started a City game in months, while the telepathic partnership Dias and Stones developed in 2020/21 was sorely absent. Newcastle looked like scoring with each attack, with the two defenders not knowing when to drop and when to track runners. Hopefully Ake isn’t out for too long.
Gundogan among the goals
Ilkay Gundogan looks to be back to his goal-scoring form of 2020/21, his strike in Newcastle his second in two games.
Pep has repeatedly praised the German’s ability to pop up in the box at exactly the right moment, and in the fifth minute he did just that to get on the end of Bernardo’s cross.
Haaland doing what he does best
Erling Haaland was largely quiet for an hour, until he popped up to lash the ball high into the net and get City back in the game.
The striker was in the right place to convert Rodri’s flick back from the byline, showing just how important he can be in poaching goals when City are in a sticky situation. Last season that’s the kind of chance City might have spurned, but not any more.
Bernardo and Stones return
City eased to a 4-0 win against Bournemouth last weekend, but that didn't stop Guardiola from making two changes to his side. That's not entirely surprising, but the two changes Pep did make weren't the most predictable.
The club insist they plan for Bernardo Silva to stay at City rather than pursuing a move to Barcelona, but the assumption was that he might come into midfield, not on the wing.
Ruben Dias and Nathan Ake had been Guardiola's preferred centre-back pairing so far this season, but John Stones replaced the former to earn a first start of the campaign. Ake kept his spot, reflecting the fact that he's arguably been the Blues' best defender so far this season.
Left-back selections
Sergio Gomez only joined City earlier this week - and has barely trained with his new teammates - but he was named among the substitutes for the game at St James'.
Interestingly, his inclusion in the squad came at the expense of fellow young left-back Josh Wilson-Esbrand. The 19-year-old wasn't involved in the EDS' goalless draw with Spurs earlier in the day as he wasn't fully fit, but he did travel to Newcastle with the squad.
It will be interesting to see over the coming weeks who is Guardiola's preferred back-up left-back - the academy graduate or the new signing.
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