🔗 Share this article

Howe had tried numerous approaches.

The Newcastle United head coach previously deployed sides who pressed Manchester City aggressively. He fielded others who adopted deeper defensive positions. Different systems were tested, but none yielded victory.

The situation had deteriorated to where Howe half-seriously claimed "we've exhausted our options" pre-game.

Yet he found an answer.

After suffering a disappointing defeat at Brentford prior to the international break, Newcastle required a response, The Newcastle management created a blueprint to finally defeat Guardiola's team.

And their planning proved successful following a 2-1 victory at an electric St James' Park marking Howe's initial Premier League success against Guardiola's side after 16 previous failures.

"I have extensive documentation of unsuccessful approaches against them, so I know what to avoid," Howe explained. "Telling you what does is a very small piece of paper, but you just try and learn from experience and just tweak something the next time. That was our methodology."

'I don't believe in radical overhauls'

Planning commenced in the aftermath of their Brentford setback.

The manager invested extensive time studying video, evaluating practice sessions and looking for answers to their irregular season.

With a smaller squad during the international period, the team worked on restoring "their vitality and movement".

Several notable adjustments were implemented for Manchester City's visit.

Skipper Bruno Guimaraes took up a central midfield position, replacing Sandro Tonali who had occupied that spot, as full-backs Lewis Hall and Tino Livramento began a match together for the first time in months and proved highly influential.

Defender Fabian Schar earned his first league start since autumn, coming in for Sven Botman.

Despite the changes, Howe avoided dramatic overhauls and preserved his trusted 4-3-3 setup and two of the three modifications to his starting lineup were essentially forced after Kieran Trippier and Anthony Gordon missed out through injury.

Most of the squad members who played at Brentford and during the disappointing West Ham loss received chances to make amends.

"I'm against making wholesale changes," Howe emphasized. "Unless you're in absolute panic mode, which we're not, and I don't believe in that style of leadership anyway.

"I possess strong insight into our top talent and strive to create optimal conditions for their development by supporting them and facilitating their growth."

Barnes Delivers When It Matters

Something clearly needed to change, however.

Only struggling Wolves and Leeds United had scored fewer goals than Newcastle in the top flight before this match.

New signing Nick Woltemade had seemed detached, with minimal attacking supply, particularly away from home.

Despite Woltemade's absence with the German national team, the squad developed new supporting movements for their forward featuring Barnes and Jacob Murphy, to optimize his contribution after his international commitment.

The Magpies generated clear chances for Woltemade during the match, with the City keeper making three crucial saves.

Although Newcastle had become too Woltemade-focused, other attackers have emerged as reliable options.

Particularly Barnes.

Barnes wasted crucial opportunities before halftime - even missing from close range - and acknowledged he wasn't "the most appreciated player" at intermission.

However, Barnes not only broke the deadlock with a superb strike from distance after halftime, he secured victory moments after City leveled through Ruben Dias.

The Magpies had held advantages against Arsenal, Brentford and West Ham but ended up defeated.

But they didn't collapse when Manchester City equalized or, indeed, after eight minutes of stoppage time were added.

This performance saw Newcastle dominate physical battles, winning more challenges and defensive actions.

Despite City's possession advantage, which distorts the data, Newcastle cleared their lines 36 times and confined City to merely four shots on goal.

This defensive effort was praised by former Magpies defender Jonathan Woodgate.

"Out of possession they were exceptional and created significant difficulties when City attempted to find spaces between the lines," he stated in his broadcast analysis. "Second half I considered them the superior team, consistently catching City on counter-attacks and ultimately scoring two magnificent goals by Barnes. What an enthralling contest."

St James' Stronghold

Yet should this result under the lights at St James' necessarily come as a massive surprise?

Only Manchester City (13) have won more Premier League home games than Howe's team (11) in 2025.

Beginning last season, the Magpies have achieved eight wins, two draws and merely two losses at St James' Park versus elite Premier League opposition.

Nonetheless, on their travels, Newcastle haven't secured a league victory since spring.

This explains why the team were just a single point above the relegation zone before Saturday's significant victory.

"While I'd like to assert that supporters shouldn't affect player performance, it completely changes dynamics," Howe admitted. "We need to identify methods to generate momentum in away matches without fan assistance.

"This is our challenge to address, whether via tactical modifications, roster decisions. Whatever the solution, we must work diligently to find answers."