The Newcastle United captain's confrontation with Pep Guardiola was only part of the story
Newcastle United's Brazilian midfielder Bruno Guimaraes
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When the chips are down and times are tough, all teams need their leaders to stand up and be counted. That's exactly what happened to Newcastle United this week.
The noise around the Magpies had picked up in the aftermath of two really poor Premier League performances against West Ham United and Brentford, which resulted in two defeats. Criticism was rightly aimed at the players and management, but the response was crucial.
Much has been made of the leadership group created by Eddie Howe and the senior players in that party are vital to the way Howe wants to run his team.
Kieran Trippier stepped up and spoke out in midweek while others led by example on the pitch against Manchester City, no more so than Bruno Guimaraes.
The Brazilian returned from international duty to have a hand in both of Harvey Barnes' goals, first driving at the defence and exchanging intricate passes with the winger for the opener, then sneaking in at the far post to head against the crossbar before Barnes converted the rebound for the winner.
Pep Guardiola recognised the contribution of a man he's been linked with on numerous occasions. The City boss strode onto the pitch at full-time to confront Guimaraes with words of praise (he claims) which attracted the headlines after the match.
Bruno was backed up by Sandro Tonali, playing in a more advanced role in a tactical tweak by Howe to disrupt City's passing game, while Joelinton shrugged off his recent poor form with a typically aggressive performance.
The Newcastle captain remains the talisman of the United team, however. When he's at his best, he drives United forward with his infectious enthusiasm, and makes Newcastle a force that can blow any team away. But it was what he did off the pitch, away from the cameras in the build-up to the game that most impressed Howe.
Back in the Sky Sports studio, pundit Jamie Redknapp was drooling over Guimaraes' display, calling him the most 'complete midfield player in the Premier League' on current form. Howe, meanwhile, was keen to stress his skipper's qualities away from the pitch.
Redknapp said: "There's a lovely balance in there of energy, skill and endeavour and a goal threat in there obviously, but one player in particular, Guimaraes, I can't think of a more complete midfield player in the Premier League right now. He's a joy to watch, his enthusiasm and drive is so good to see."
"I'd echo that, Jamie," Howe replied. "I think he's an outstanding player and I have the beauty of working with him every day and seeing what he's like as a person as well.
"He's a brilliant leader, a really inspirational figure, a very positive person.
"We've all been hurt a little bit by our Premier League form this year and the inconsistencies we've had but then you are looking for your leaders to set the standard and demand more from each other and he's done that in the brief time he's been back from international duty.
"I thought he was at the heartbeat of all our good play and I thought our midfield was really strong.
"I thought Joelinton had his best game for us in a long time in the middle of the park playing as he does, combative and physical. And with Sandro's energy, who we played slightly higher up the pitch today. I thought the three midfielders did really well."