MAN CITY (4-3-3):
Donnarumma 6; Nunes 6, Dias 5 (Khusanov 46, 6), Guehi 6, Ait-Nouri 7; Bernardo 6, Rodri 7, O’REILLY 8; Semenyo 6 (Foden 87), Haaland 6, Marmoush 6 (Cherki 58, 6).
Subs (not used): Trafford (gk), Stones, Lewis, Reijnders, Gonzalez, Savinho.
NEWCASTLE (4-3-3):
5 Pope: Made a good late save from Foden, but should have done much better with the O’Reilly shot that opened the scoring
5 Trippier: Another game in which his age was beginning to show – outjumped by O’Reilly for City’s winner
6 Thiaw: Added some composure to the Newcastle defence, but struggled to deal with City’s players breaking from deep positions
6 Burn: Was walking a tightrope from the moment he was booked in the first ten minutes, but ended up having done reasonably well against Haaland
7 Hall: Composed on the ball and strong in defence – capped another good display with his deflected goal
7 RAMSEY: Impressed in the Newcastle midfield – covered a lot of ground and was always going to be progressive in possession
6 Tonali: Had to sit very deep for most of the evening – kept the ball ticking over, but was overrun at times by City’s midfielders
5 Woltemade: Was asked some very different questions playing in midfield in a game like this – struggled to keep track of City’s runners from deep
6 Elanga: Carried a threat down Newcastle’s right, even if the quality of his deliveries into the middle was mixed
7 Gordon: Another strong showing as a central striker – caused City real problems with his pace and direct running
6 Willock: Showed some bright moments breaking forward in his hour on the field, but wasn’t really a goalscoring threat
Subs:
6 Joelinton (for Woltemade, 60): Showed plenty of fight when he came on – even if it eventually earned him a booking
6 Barnes (for Willock, 60): Almost equalised with a late strike Donnarumma touched around the post
J Murphy (for Elanga, 77)
Osula (for Gordon, 77)
(not used): Ramsdale (gk), Ruddy (gk), A Murphy, Shahar, Neave.
Man Of The Match: NICO O’REILLY – One of Man City’s more unheralded players, but their match-winner with his two goals.