Pep Guardiola had Omar Marmoush in the tightest of bear hugs and seemed strangely unwilling to release the smiling Egyptian.
It was the 73rd minute and two goals from the newly withdrawn Marmoush, the second a real show stopper, and another from Savinho had enabled Manchester City to come from behind and potentially shatter Newcastle’s entire season.
As Guardiola’s irrepressible, gloriously sweet passing, team secured a passage into the FA Cup sixth round that continues their advance on a quadruple, Eddie Howe’s campaign could hinge on his players overcoming Barcelona in their impending Champions League tie.
This was Newcastle’s fifth meeting with City this season and, despite a deceptively powerful start, it contained plenty of clues as to not merely why Guardiola’s team have won four of these encounters but why Howe’s team are a modest 12th in the Premier League.
Not that Manchester City’s manager ever underestimates them. “This was our best performance at this stadium during my decade here, we played really, really good,” said Guardiola who at one point became so incensed with the officiating that, on a freezing Tyneside night he ripped his coat off in fury and clenched a fist in the direction of the fourth official before being booked by the referee, Sam Barrott.
As a repeat offender in this regard, Guardiola’s anger that no free kick was awarded after Jérémy Doku was pulled by Kieran Trippier will now see him serve a two-match touchline ban involving a Premier League meeting with West Ham and the FA Cup quarter-final. “Two games banned now and I will go on holiday,” joked a manager arguably fortunate not to be shown a red card. “I will always defend my team.”
City’s manager routinely describes trips to St James’ Park as “nightmares” but Marmoush has now scored seven times in six appearances against Newcastle. “I felt we maybe ran out of gas,” said Howe. “We couldn’t get enough of the ball but we also have to accept that City were really good. We’ve got no complaints. It was a tough second 45 minutes. They were magnificent, they keep the ball so well.”
They were also heavily rotated. With Wednesday’s Champions League visit to Real Madrid beckoning Guardiola made 10 changes from the side that began last Wednesday’s Premier League draw against Nottingham Forest and left Erling Haaland to rest at home in Manchester. Matheus Nunes was the sole survivor from the Forest game.
Although Barcelona will visit St James’ Park in another European showpiece first leg last-16 tie on Tuesday night, Howe made more modest alterations.
While Anthony Gordon and Joelinton rested their legs on the bench, Will Osula was offered a rare start at centre forward. That decision left Nick Woltemade, currently Germany’s first-choice striker, deployed in midfield where, not for the first time, he struggled badly.
In marked contrast Savinho thrived, the Brazilian winger suggesting he is restored to full fitness as he stretched the normally impeccable Lewis Hall to the limit.
Newcastle though had generally started well, with their high intensity game fazing Guardiola’s defence while provoking plenty of chaos in the visiting penalty area. Shortly after Nico González cleared a Woltemade header off the line Harvey Barnes, then tormenting Nunes, gave Newcastle the lead.
After connecting with Sandro Tonali’s sublime pass down the left, Barnes proceeded to cut inside on his right foot and, played onside by Abdukodir Khusanov, curved a shot beyond James Trafford’s reach.
Once dominant, Newcastle subsequently lived dangerously with Tijjani Reijnders missing several presentable chances.
With the home attacking ferocity abating a little, City’s slicker, sharper passing to feet was coming to the fore. Savinho seemed at the vanguard of most of their best moves and appropriately enough he equalised.
Not that the Brazilian knew too much about a goal that involved the increasingly impressive Doku’s superlative ball in behind the defence bouncing off his shin before confounding Aaron Ramsdale. It had all begun with Doku dropping a shoulder and tricking Kieran Trippier before Ramsdale misread his delivery into the box.
It proved the cue for Howe’s defence to suffer a sequence of severe wobbles. Newcastle’s manager recently admitted his erratic team can be “wildly inconsistent within games” and this appeared another prime example.
Two minutes into the second half Marmoush shot City ahead. When the, by now much improved Nunes crossed from the right, Nico O’Reilly misjudged the ball’s flight but it still fell to Marmoush and the Egypt striker delighted in lashing his shot into the roof of the net.
On came Joelinton, Dan Burn and Yoane Wissa but, almost immediately, Marmoush scored again. This time, another Nunes delivery prefaced the forward unleashing a high velocity shot into the top corner from just outside area that left Ramsdale helpless.
“Tuesday is a massive game in this club’s history,” said Howe whose side could do with being much cuter in possession against Barcelona. “We need to be ready for it.”
