Manchester City held off Newcastle on Saturday thanks to Phil Foden’s mazy run and finish and substitute Bernardo Silva’s clinical strike to stay within touching distance of Premier League leaders Arsenal.
England winger Foden cut in from the right and burst into the box to net a superb solo effort. The Etihad was nervy for part of the second half but Silva’s precise finish extinguished any hopes of a comeback from the visitors.
The result puts City back within two points off league leaders Arsenal, who are in action later on Saturday against Bournemouth, while Newcastle will hope Wolves can take points off Tottenham in the top four race.
City nearly opened the scoring in the opening minute but Ilkay Gundogan could only nod over Jack Grealish’s cross. The hosts punctuated flowing moves with the odd uncharacteristic sloppy pass before Foden netted his fourth goal in three games.
The 22-year-old forward left Dan Burn in a daze, easily drifting past the lanky left back and into the box. Foden then held off Bruno Guimaraes and squeezed the ball over Nick Pope via a deflection off Sven Botman.
Erling Haaland was well dealt with by Jamaal Lascelles during the first half and Anthony Gordon provided a few moments of positivity for the visitors as they stayed in contest.
The sides traded big chances in space of three minutes in the lead-up to half time. Haaland found space to attack Kevin De Bruyne’s cross but could only steer a header wide before Callum Wilson missed a gilt-edged opportunity to equalise.
The England striker was teed up by a Kieran Tripper header centrally in the box but completely miscued his effort as City cleared their lines to preserve the 1-0 scoreline at the break.
Grealish curled a long-range effort high and wide in the early throws of the second period but City’s play was somewhat ragged in comparison to previous goal-laden displays. They couldn’t make openings for Haaland, who sent an ambitious half-volley clear of the bar around the hour mark.
Substitute Joe Willock conjured up a great chance moments after his introduction, swinging a cross in from the right for the arriving Joelinton. However, the Brazilian couldn’t take the ball in stride and City cleared.
Eddie Howe and his side were made to pay for that miss as City secured the points. Grealish drove at Newcastle’s defence before Haaland fed Silva. The Portugal international took a chance and smashed a drive past the helpless Pope.
Any attacking spark from Newcastle seemed to have been…
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