Manchester City are alive and ready to fight to the end in this title race.
Newcastle caused enough problems to threaten a different result at the Etihad, and Arsenal continue to set a blistering pace at the top of the table, but Pep Guardiola's champions are doing enough. There was enough quality, spirit, and commitment in this 2-0 win over one of their toughest opponents to suggest that the Blues have found the form they spent two months looking for.
City were finally home at the Etihad after three weeks on the road, and they may finally be at the start of a run of form that could take them to silverware. Past results this season mean it is still too early for them to make any promises, but there were more signs on Saturday that City are bang up for the challenge of defending their title.
Also read: Man City player ratings vs Newcastle
Having impressed against Bournemouth and then ran the show against Bristol City, Foden was backed to carry on that form against Newcastle and had repaid that decision inside 15 minutes. A lovely turn took him beyond the long, flailing limbs of Dan Burn and into the box, where Bruno Guimaraes and Anthony Gordon both tried to take the ball but only succeeded in knocking it back into Foden's path; his right-footed shot nicked off Sven Botman, past Nick Pope and into the Newcastle goal.
A fast start for the third game in a row, and made more important by the even quicker beginning the visitors could have had. Ruben Dias made an important header in the opening moments as Newcastle threatened from a corner after some shaky passing from Ederson had given possession away close to their goal.
Newcastle continued to pose problems for City and Sean Longstaff and Callum Wilson both missed terrific chances to score inside the first half. Crucially though, City were creating at the other end.
Erling Haaland should have buried a header that Kevin De Bruyne put on a plate for him six yards out and Jack Grealish and Foden also tried their luck as City found their best form of defence was attack. For all their vulnerability at the back, the attacking play was exactly what they were crying out for earlier in the year.
It was the little things that made such a difference. De Bruyne clapping the crowd on his way to take a corner to gee them up, the superb touch and link-up play from Haaland to keep himself involved in the game, the awareness from Walker to take a quick throw-in, the ambition from Ederson to command his area, the enthusiasm of Dias to gee up his teammates were all evidence of speed and intelligence that had gone missing round about the time Guardiola embarked on his 'happy flowers' rant.
The big things helped too, mind. Nathan Ake produced a goal-saving block to deny Longstaff seconds after Foden had opened the scoring. To say that it looked such a risky decision to offload Joao Cancelo at the end of January - Gary Neville has said this week it will go down as one of Guardiola's biggest mistakes - the form of the team since has been terrific and the full-back almost certainly would not have been in the position that Ake was to block the shot.
Then there was Foden, equalling his best-ever tally of Premier League goals with his ninth of the season and showing that he can be the matchwinner that the team missed when their form took a dive without him. Arsenal have rightly been praised for bringing in Jorginho and Leandro Trossard to sustain their title challenge, yet a fresh Foden and evergreen Ake could prove as important to City.
Against Newcastle, the team did what they could not do against Nottingham Forest. More chances for the opposition came because they always do, and Eddie Howe's triple substitutions around the hour mark saw a golden opportunity missed by Joelinton before Dias, Ederson and Ake combined to stop Alexander Isak.
Guardiola called for Bernardo, then told him to put his bib back on, then brought him on for De Bruyne. Within two minutes, the Portugal international made it 2-0 and made the contest far less spicy.
It was a lovely goal, with Grealish carrying the ball inside and passing along for Haaland to flick the ball into Bernardo's path, who lashed it past Nick Pope. And it was precisely the kind of game management that the team have been struggling to do recently.
Up against a team with a reputation for wasting time, City saw out the game with some game control of the highest order as consecutive short corners from Grealish were played by Haaland off a helpless Newcastle player to ensure a gruelling finish to the game for the black-and-white shirts. Playing up to the crowd after each corner, the Norwegian was revelling in his role at the corner flag.
For all the attention that Haaland generates, it was always going to need a team effort for City to keep up a Premier League title defence - especially up against an Arsenal side that have reached such a high ceiling this season. Arsenal have rightly been praised for bringing in Jorginho and Leandro Trossard to sustain their title challenge, yet the emergence of Foden and Dias since the window closed and the improving contributions of everyone around them has given a similar lift.
The post-match embrace in a team huddle said a lot for the current mood propelling City to where they want to be, and the chants for the manager from the crowd marked a very happy return for everyone to the Etihad. City's win took them again to within touching distance of the top, and even if Arsenal increase the gap again before the day is out, Guardiola's side have shown that they will push all the way.
READ NEXT:
