Erling Haaland quietened the home fans with a goal in the 3-3 draw
(Picture: Getty Images)Newcastle and Manchester City both pulled off stunning comebacks in a thrilling 3-3 draw that registered as likely the finest game of the Premier League season so far.
Eddie Howe said before the game that not conceding easy ground to Pep Guardiola’s side was his first priority and yet Newcastle did just that as City took a fifth-minute lead.
Bernardo Silva used the dummy run of Kyle Walker on the overlap to cut inside and float a cross in that Ilkay Gundogan snapped up to scramble home. The defence had fallen hook, line and sinker for football’s most expensive decoy and were guilty of Erling Haaland-watching as the German stole in.
The goal had not quite jolted Newcastle into life as they took a few moments to compose themselves, in which time Haaland failed to connect with a Gundogan cutback as both Phil Foden and Kevin De Bruyne were denied by Nick Pope.
The counter-attack, despite Howe’s premonition, quickly proved to be the Toon’s best avenue and Allan Saint-Maximin fired a signal of intent on 18 minutes by toying with his marker before a smart cross was skied by Miguel Almiron.
The quality of finishing, and subsequently the goalkeeping, was nonetheless of the highest order with ten of the 17 first-half efforts landing on target. Pope flung himself to deny a De Bruyne free-kick and Ederson matched his counterpart to hold out Saint-Maximin.
By the half-hour mark, Newcastle were not just in the game but arguably on top. The devilish Saint-Maximin swung in a low cross that Almiron bundled over the line, only for the flag to go up. On a weekend of VAR controversies with replay officials getting involved where they ought not to, this time an incorrect offside call was overturned to confirm the leveller.
City abandoned their typical clarity of thinking as Ederson launched midway into his own half to lose a race with Almiron before the chance was cleared, but the hosts were ahead moments later anyway.
It was no surprise to see the inspired Saint-Maximin racing at the visiting defence on 38 minutes, cutting inside in rolling Callum Wilson towards goal as the striker’s first touch beat substitute Ruben Dias all ends up before a calm finish completed a magnificent first-half turnaround.
Pope continued to be Newcastle’s other star man as the second period began, offering a slight touch onto Haaland’s best moment of the game to turn a powerful low effort onto the post.
No matter the quality of goalkeeping on display, Ederson had no chance as Kieran Trippier whipped home a delicious free-kick after that man Saint-Maximin was chopped down.
Newcastle were in dreamland but, when City are your opponents, points are never safe until the dying embers of the game are thoroughly snuffed out. And so it proved as Haaland poked home a rebuttal on the hour mark.
Pope was again called upon only seconds later to deny the Norwegian in a one-on-one before the visitors pulled off an even quicker lightning bolt comeback than witnessed in the first half, De Bruyne slipping in Bernardo Silva to make it 3-3.
The 'Bury Beckham'!! WHAT A GOAL!! 🤯💥
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) August 21, 2022
Kieran Trippier with an UNSTOPPABLE free-kick! ⚫️⚪️ #NEWMCI pic.twitter.com/XhkldDZJIh
The stuffing had been knocked out of Newcastle, manager Howe resorting to the hustle and bustle of Chris Wood and Sean Longstaff off his bench to pep things up before another mazy Saint-Maximin run resulted in a wayward pass into the box.
With goals in abduance, there was somehow still space for a red card to threaten the headlines as Jarred Gillett gave Trippier his marching orders for a lunge on De Bruyne. The defender missed the ball with a cynical tackle, his studs hovering above ankle-height, that VAR recommended a second look at to result in it being downgraded to a booking.
City chose to gently probe their hosts in the final spell of the game rather than hurl the kitchen sink at an opponent which earlier dismantled them on the break, but kept Pope on his toes as he snatched the ball off Gundogan’s toes in the box.
There was a convincing argument to be made for both sides being content, rather than dismayed, by the sound of the full-time whistle. City, tested to the full, for snatching a point from the jaws of what would have been a jarring defeat. Newcastle, for providing just the latest demonstration that Howe has crafted a team that - even in the absence of the much-vaunted hundreds of millions of spending - are the real deal.
