Eddie Howe had never beaten Pep Guardiola until Wednesday evening when he ended a personal wait as Newcastle expelled the serial winners from the Carabao Cup. In doing so he also removed the possibility that Manchester City will hold all three major domestic trophies at the same time as the Champions League, European Super Cup and Club World Cup.
The match revolved around the changes one manager made and the move another did not make. And Guardiola was not the proactive coach. Admittedly, even as his side trailed on Tyneside and succumbed to their first defeat of the season, penalty shootouts aside, he opted not to bring on Erling Haaland, settling for an early exit rather than risking his star striker. Doing nothing became a choice in itself.
