This explains why Eddie Howe had every chance of defeating Pep Guardiola this time

It was Eddie Howe and Newcastle United up against Pep Guardiola and Manchester City on Saturday.

Ahead of the match at St James’ Park, much was made of a lot of not so good statistics…

That Newcastle United had won only one of their last 35 Premier League matches against Man City, home and away.

That in his management career, Eddie Howe had faced Manchester City 18 times in the Premier League and lost 16 of them, with two draws and not a single win for Bournemouth and Newcastle United.

Then the most deadly striker on the planet, Erling Haaland having scored a scarcely believable 32 goals in 20 matches for club and country this season. A lot of talk about whether he could even go on and score 100 goals for Norway and Man City this season.

Nobody in the media saw this Newcastle 2 Manchester City 1 result coming, with indeed probably the vast majority of Newcastle United fans also not seeing it as a likely outcome.

This explains though why Eddie Howe had every chance of defeating Pep Guardiola this time what people couldn’t/wouldn’t see…

Erling Haaland

Haaland has been incredible since arriving at Manchester City in summer 2022, no time more so than the first three months of this season.

Yet the fact is that since the Norwegian scored in August 2022, the very first time he played (the 3-3) against NUFC, he hasn’t scored in the next three years and three months and counting against Newcastle United, this is both at SJP and the Etihad.

Eddie Howe always has a plan on how to cope with Erling Haaland and it always works, since August 2022 anyway. The sheer quality that Man City have across their squad has meant at times the other players can’t all be kept quiet, however…

Manchester City at St James’ Park

Only weeks after Eddie Howe had arrive at Newcastle United, there was a 0-4 against Man City. Everything that could go wrong, did. Including some appalling decisions by match officials, remember that Ederson foul when he took out Ryan Fraser yet no penalty?!!!

Anyway, the record in all competitions at St James’ Park since then, Newcastle v Man City, now reads played five, with two Newcastle wins, two draws and one defeat in three years and three months. That sole defeat came two seasons ago in January 2024 when Newcastle were still desperately short of numbers with injuries and the Tonali suspension, were leading with 17 minutes to go, then supersub Kevin de Bruyne scored from distance, then in added time set up a brilliant Bobb winner with an outstanding assist. Surely this form in games at St James’ Park in recent years against Man City, was more relevant than say what went on in the Mike Ashley era (Rafa Benitez years excepted) against Man City at SJP.

Newcastle United home form

Heading into Saturday’s game, Newcastle had won all of their last five matches at home in all competitions, scoring 11 and conceding only one.

Manchester City away form

Man City came into this match having won only two of their last six away games in all competitions, had lost against both Brighton and Villa in that run. They had won only one Premier League away game since the opening day victory at now rock bottom Wolves, in their four PL away games that had followed that, Man City had managed only three goals in four matches.

Stop Haaland and…

Speaking of which, all three away Premier League goals Manchester City had scored since Wolves on the opening day, had been scored by..Erling Haaland. The striker who simply can’t stop scoring goals apart from when he comes up against Newcastle United.

So it proved again on Saturday. Nick Pope and his defence very unlucky to concede the one they did do, Dias seeing his shot somehow get past the two defenders that threw themselves in the way of his striker.

How irritating is it though that so many people are saying about how badly Haaland played, rather than accepting that it was another brilliant set-up by Eddie Howe and the implementing of that plan by the likes of Thiaw and Schar, that was the reason for the goal machine not working as usual? I also hate the way how people are so desperate not to give credit to Nick Pope. He made a really good save with his body at point blank range but even better than that was the key moment when Haaland was played through one on one with Pope, as usual he swept brilliantly behind his defence, came racing out of his box and only that prevented the deadly striker scoring. It was brave and a stunning piece of goalkeeping, way out of his box and Haaland totally surprised by it and rushing a really poor effort that went well wide. If Nick Pope had stayed in his box, we would for sure have seen the usual sight (that we see against all other clubs) of Erling Haaland set free and coolly slotting the key opening goal past the keeper in a one on one.

Bottom line

The bottom line is that Eddie Howe always sets Newcastle United up really well to deal with Manchester City and Erling Haaland in particular, especially at St James’ Park. Away from home (and when leading 3-1 then drawing 3-3 at SJP, same when leading 2-1 and then losing 2-3) I think Eddie Howe has also done ok in the set-up against them but a combination of brilliance from Man City players and individual mistakes from Newcastle players, has undermined that.

Saturday night was a brilliant triumph for Eddie Howe and his Newcastle United players, it was well deserved on the night AND it was well deserved based on near misses at home against Manchester City, when Newcastle had been so unlucky, a number of time, small margins and all that.

Should we/you have seen this win coming? Well, it certainly shouldn’t have been a massive shock, Newcastle United have had an up and down season so far but they haven’t quite been the disaster that some people wanted to portray, including plenty of NUFC fans! As I say as well, this was hardly Newcastle winning out of turn against Man City, this has been coming in recent years (and indeed did previously happen in the 1-0 League Cup match) and Eddie Howe and his team finally got what they deserved. No wonder Pep Guardiola was so angry, he knows fine well that United were the better team, created the best chances and if both sides had taken the glaring opportunities they had, it could have ended up 6-2 or 6-3 to the good guys.