Newcastle United were beaten once again in the Premier League yesterday, this time by Manchester City.
The Magpies suffered a resounding 4-0 loss at the hands of the reigning Premier League champions at St. James’ Park.
Newcastle were always going to be underdogs going into the game.
City have been in imperious form and have world-class players and a world-class manager.
But there is always hope that a team can pull something out of the bag, but it wasn’t to be yesterday.
City put Newcastle to the sword, but the decision not to award Newcastle a penalty at 2-0 for a clear foul by Ederson on Ryan Fraser was hard to stomach.
Alan Shearer said it was a ‘pen all day’.
It could have meant an entirely different game.
But what happened happened, and Newcastle must get the result out of their system.
Despite the 4-0 scoreline, some City players did actually have a kind word to say about Newcastle after the game.
Goalscorer Riyad Mahrez said (via mancity.com): “We never gave them an opportunity, but I think it was still a tough battle. They were very aggressive.
“It wasn’t an easy game, obviously when you score two quick goals you make it easy for yourself.”
Kevin De Bruyne said on Instagram: “Hard game on the road today but good victory and clean sheet.”
Ruben Dias was also complimentary, saying on Instagram: “One more victory against a tough team! Rest and recharge for what’s coming!”
Manchester City stars are being kind
The Manchester City players are seemingly being complimentary about Newcastle, but it’s probably unlikely they really think yesterday was a tough game.
They dominated the game as expected, finishing with 72% possession and had 18 shots at goal to Newcastle’s five.
And they were, of course, gifted their first of the day after a mix-up between Ciaran Clark and Martin Dubravka. That was hardly making things tough for City.
Realistically, they never needed to get out of first gear.
They might have needed to had Newcastle scored from a penalty they should been given at 2-0.
But it was a comfortable day at the office, and Eddie Howe needs to prompt a big response against Manchester United.
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