Manchester City 2 Newcastle 1: City player ratings as Nico O’Reilly goes bang | OneFootball

Manchester City 2 (Nico O’Reilly 14′, 27′)

Newcastle United 1 (Lewis Hall 22′)

Here are the City player ratings and match report as Manchester City beat Newcastle United 2-1 in a crucial Premier League fixture at the Etihad Stadium tonight. Nico O’Reilly’s first half brace led his team to victory. Manchester City’s hard-fought 2-1 win heaps the pressure onto Arsenal who take on Tottenham tomorrow knowing that Pep Guardiola’s side is only two points behind them with City now building real momentum.

When the starting lineups were announced, Pep Guardiola had gone with what seemed to be Manchester City’s strongest lineup. There was experience and leadership at the back with Ruben Dias and Marc Guehi paired at centre-back. Nico O’Reilly, Rodri, and Bernardo Silva formed City’s midfield after impressing as a trio in recent weeks. Up front, Erling Haaland, Antoine Semenyo, and Omar Marmoush started as City looked to get at Eddie Howe’s side.

First half.

Manchester City made a bright start to the match, and their intent was clear to see from kickoff. Two teasing crosses from Rayan Ait-Nouri and Antoine Semenyo came in from either flank, which unfortunately didn’t lead to a chance. Bernardo Silva pressed Dan Burn into an early error, as it was clear to see that Pep Guardiola’s side was up for tonight’s match.

Nico O’Reilly fires Manchester City into an early lead.

Pep Guardiola’s side would take the lead in the 14th minute. Erling Haaland would flick a header on in midfield to set Omar Marmoush on his way. Marmoush ran at a stretched and backpedalling Newcastle defence and played a ball to Nico O’Reilly on his left. O’Reilly had Erling Haaland to his left unmarked, but the England international decided to have a shot from the edge of the area. O’Reilly beat Nick Pope with a powerful shot that Pope got a hand to but the Newcastle keeper couldn’t keep it out and Manchester City had a 1-nil lead.

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Anthony Gordon saw a shot saved by Gianluigi Donnarumma two minutes later. A long ball from Nick Woltemade over the top of the City defense set Anthony Gordon on his way. Gordon had too much pace for Marc Guehi, but Guehi did force Gordon to the left-hand side of the City penalty area. Gordon cut inside and fired a low, right-footed shot on goal, which Donnarumma got down low to his left to save. Omar Marmoush saw a shot saved by Nick Pope at the other end 30 seconds later, as tonight’s match was being played at a fantastic tempo.

Lewis Hall equalises for Newcastle.

Newcastle equalized in the 22nd minute. A corner was headed clear by Matheus Nunes, but his clearance hit Rayan Ait-Nouri. The deflection allowed Newcastle to tee up Lewis Hall for a shot from the edge of the penalty area. Hall’s shot hit Rayan Ait-Nouri, and the deflection gave Gianluigi Donnarumma no chance of saving the shot as the ball nestled in the bottom corner. The game had threatened goals, and at 1-all, the match was delicately poised.

That man again restores Manchester City’s lead.

Nico O’Reilly would make it 2-1 in the 27th minute. Antoine Semenyo played Haaland in behind the Newcastle defence on the right. Haaland played a quality ball to the backpost which picked out Nico O’Reilly. O’Reilly beat Nick Pope with a quality header to restore Manchester City’s lead. City had restored their lead but you did sense that there were more goals to come at the Etihad.

An injury suffered by Newcastle midfielder Sandro Tonali was an opportunity for everyone to catch their breath. The game was an entertaining one, and both teams were going all out to win. Strangely, Erling Haaland was whistled for a foul at the restart for a ‘foul’ on Newcastle defender Malick Thiaw. Haaland won the ball cleanly in the air, and Thiaw ran into his arm and went down clutching his face. The referee blew for a foul by Haaland, which was a strange decision to say the least.

Joe Willock had a harmless shot saved by Donnarumma in the 38th minute. The chance came after Anthony Elanga was played in behind the Manchester City defence. Elanga played a ball from the right to Anthony Gordon, who set up Willock for a shot. Willock’s shot never troubled Donnarumma, but Newcastle’s pace up front was worrying Pep Guardiola’s side.

Newcastle have a goal ruled out for offside.

Dan Burn would have a goal ruled out for offside in the 42nd minute. Burn got to a Newcastle free kick first and beat Gianluigi Donnarumma with a flicked header. But Burn was offside and the goal was rightly ruled out.

Erling Haaland would fire a right-footed shot from just outside the Newcastle area inches wide on the stroke of halftime. Haaland worked his way into a position to shoot with some superb footwork. Haaland’s shot went inches wide of the near post with Nick Pope scrambling. Two minutes later, Omar Marmoush would fire a powerful shot wide from a similar position to Haaland.

Nick Pope denied Omar Marmoush in the fourth minute of first half stoppage time. Rodri set Marmoush free on the right, and the Egyptian international got himself into a good position to shoot in the box. As Marmoush cut inside, Newcastle defender Malick Thiaw got a foot on the ball, which took momentum away from Marmoush. The Egyptian international got a shot on goal, but it lacked the power to beat Nick Pope, who saved with ease.

Omar Marmoush’s shot would be the final moment of an entertaining first half. Manchester City would take a 2-1 lead into halftime and were having joy against Eddie Howe’s side. But Newcastle were also having their moments, so the match could go either way.

Second half.

Abdukodir Khusanov replaced Ruben Dias at halftime to give Manchester City more pace and strength at the back. Khusanov made a strong challenge on Nick Woltemade to signal his intent after coming off the bench.

The second half became stretched and sloppy in the first ten minutes. Bernardo Silva picked up a yellow card, and Newcastle had several free kicks from promising positions, which led to nothing. Antoine Semenyo fired a left-footed strike over the bar in the 53rd minute, but the game was becoming messy.

Antoine Semenyo would see a left-footed shot from a good position saved by Nick Pope. A long ball from Gianluigi Donnarumma picked out Erling Haaland in space up front to drive at the Newcastle defence. Haaland worked the ball the Rayan Cherki from the left who picked out Semenyo in a good position. But Semenyo’s shot lacked any real conviction and Nick Pope saved with ease.

The final 20 minutes of the match were evenly poised.

As the match entered the 70th minute the match was evenly poised. The pace and tempo of the first half had gone, and the match had become a slug fest of sorts. Newcastle were enjoying larger spells of possession and City were sitting back deeper defensively. It was going to be fascinating to see if Manchester City could grab a third goal or if they would be forced to hold on to prevent Eddie Howe’s side from finding an equalizer.

You could sense the nerves at the Etihad as the game entered the final ten minutes. A common theme of the second half was the amount of free kicks that Manchester City were conceding. Newcastle hadn’t made City pay for it, but you could see set pieces being a way for Eddie Howe’s side to find an equalizer based on how the second half had unfolded.

Erling Haaland and Phil Foden would both be denied by good saves from Nick Pope as Manchester City tried to put the game to bed as the game entered four minutes of stoppage time. Marc Guehi played in Haaland who saw his right-footed finish blocked by the oncoming Nick Pope. On the follow-up, Phil Foden hit a strong volley at goal that Pope saved with his foot.

Newcastle would have a corner in the final minute of the match to try and level the scores. But Manchester City would keep Eddie Howe’s side out, and Pep Guardiola’s did what they had to do to ensure they picked up a vital three points to move within two points of Arsenal at the top of the Premier League.

First thought after the match.

It wasn’t a vintage display from Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium tonight. They did what they had to do to keep the pressure up on Mikel Arteta’s side. What did stand out, especially late in the second half was that every City player was willing to fight for the cause and that was a crucial element of Manchester City’s hard-fought win.

City player ratings.

Gianluigi Donnarumma-7.5/10: Made the save he had to and I thought Donnarumma was impressive with his feet.

Matheus Nunes-6/10: I thought Nunes did his job without standing out.

Ruben Dias-6/10: Replaced at halftime by Abdukodir Khusanov. The way the match was being played didn’t suit Dias, and he was on a yellow card.

Marc Guehi-7/10: Solid at the back after making a nervous start to the match.

Rayan Ait-Nouri-7/10: Got forward well, especially early in the match. Was very good defensively across the entire game.

Rodri-8.5/10: A superb display from Rodri. His presence and leadership was vital to his team’s win.

Bernardo Silva-6.5/10: Not a vintage Bernardo display but he did everything his team needed tonight.

Nico O’Reilly-9/10: Man-of-the-match by some distance. His brace won the game and he’s becoming crucial to this City side.

Antoine Semenyo-6/10: Semenyo could’ve been the game-breaker. But his shooting was wayward and he was far too careless in possession.

Omar Marmoush-7/10: Grabbed an assist and was lively before he was replaced by Rayan Cherki.

Erling Haaland-8.5/10: Haaland set up Nico O’Reilly’s second goal and his overall performance was brilliant. His defensive work was crucial and he put in the type of performance expected from a leader.

Substitutes.

Abdukodir Khusanov-7.5/10: I thought Khusanov was superb after coming at halftime. His pace and strength in a challenge was crucial in containing Newcastle’s pace up front.

Rayan Cherki-7/10: He could have had a game-breaking impact if his teammates finished the chances he created. What I liked was his composure under pressure which stood out in a nervy second half from Manchester City.

Phil Foden-N/A: Not on long enough to mark.