Man City ramp pressure on Arsenal with tense Newcastle victory as title race heats up
Manchester City have cranked up the pressure on Arsenal in the Premier League title race after securing a crucial 2-1 victory over Newcastle United at the Etihad Stadium this evening.
Academy product Nico O’Reilly was the hero, netting both goals to drag Pep Guardiola’s side within just two points of the league leaders.
It’s the closest City have been to Arsenal since September, and the timing couldn’t be better with the Gunners facing a tricky trip to Tottenham tomorrow.
The 20-year-old midfielder’s brilliant brace means City now control their own destiny in what’s shaping up to be a thrilling title race.
Manchester City realised the size of their victory on Saturday as they moved to two points behind Arsenal
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O’Reilly opened the scoring on 14 minutes with a clinical left-footed strike after Omar Marmoush played him in with a clever pass, though Nick Pope got a hand to it but couldn’t keep it out.
Newcastle hit back just eight minutes later when Lewis Hall’s effort from the edge of the box took a big deflection off Rayan Ait-Nouri and wrong-footed Gianluigi Donnarumma.
But City weren’t behind for long. Just five minutes after the equaliser, Erling Haaland floated a gorgeous cross into the box and O’Reilly rose highest to power a header into the far corner.
All three goals arrived in a breathless 13-minute spell, and while the second half proved nervy for the hosts, they held firm to extend their unbeaten run to eight matches.
City’s record against Newcastle at home is nothing short of extraordinary.
Tonight marked their 17th consecutive Premier League victory over the Magpies at the Etihad, a run stretching back to August 2002.
Nico O’Reilly scored twice to give City a vital victory
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It’s actually the longest unbeaten home streak against a single opponent in Premier League history.
Guardiola’s men have now won five on the bounce in all competitions, while Arsenal have managed just two victories from their last seven league outings.
Eddie Howe’s side arrived in Manchester having travelled 5,000 miles for their Champions League clash with Qarabag in Baku just days earlier, and the fatigue showed at times.
Lewis Hall scored an equaliser for Newcastle, who only arrived back in England days earlier from Azerbaijan
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Newcastle haven’t won at the Etihad in the league since 2002, a miserable run of 21 matches without victory.
They remain stuck in tenth place, six points adrift of the European spots with 11 games remaining.
A tough run awaits too, with Everton, Manchester United, Chelsea and local rivals Sunderland all on the horizon.
The Magpies will look to bounce back when they host Qarabag in the Champions League on Tuesday, holding a commanding 6-1 lead from the first leg.
