Manchester City 2 Newcastle 1 – Saturday 21 February 2026 8pm
Instant fan/writer reaction from some of our regular contributors on The Mag.
Nat Seaton:
‘A great effort from the lads but not quite enough to beat the in form team in the Premier League, full of their multi million pound players going for the title.
Pity about the Burn goal / push but that doesn’t mean we would have got anything out of the game.
Kept going well in second half but with all the players we have out it’s a big ask.
Back to Champions League on Tuesday where the opposition will not quite be to this level…’
Billy Miller:
‘It was probably too much to ask to extend our winning run at the Etihad.
One of our better displays there though.
We’ll triumph at that stadium one day.’
Mark Jankowski:
‘Newcastle came away from the Etihad empty-handed yet again, despite a best showing in that stadium in the best part of a decade.
We were undone by a couple of moments of sloppy defending in the first half and possibly a weak bit of goalkeeping on Man City’s first goal.
Despite falling behind, we battled back level in the match and were unlucky to have a second equaliser ruled out after a blatant shove from Ruben Dias. It would have been the softest of fouls for the referee to give, but having disallowed the goal via the use of VAR surely, they must intervene as the only reason we failed to score was due to that soft foul.
If Newcastle can play that well for the remainder of the season, we should finish much further up the table than we are at the moment.
Fingers crossed we can stay healthy until May.’
Matt Busby said…:
‘Sick of losing at the Emptihad.
Thought in patches we more than competed.
When will we get the rub of the green at the Commonwealth Games Stadium?
Doesn’t matter, we can turn this lot over in the FA Cup Fifth Round.’
David Punton:
‘Defeat but a better effort. That’s something, right?
Maybe we should have had a draw but they are going for the league title.
A really tough place to go.
You’ve got to be seriously good to overturn Manchester City.’
Simon Ritter:
‘We gave as good as we got.
Unfortunately, the best we could muster was not as good as Man City’s best.
Newcastle’s pace in midfield and attack troubled the hosts.
If not for a push on Dan Burn that put him offside at a Tonali free-kick, we would have been level at the break.
I’ll be expecting a gracious thank-you note from Arteta after we made the champions-elect work hard for the points.
Bernardo Silva was lucky to avoid a second yellow card in three minutes as we attacked again at the start of the second half. A brave referee would have dismissed him.
Instead, he became a homer, ignored time wasting and ensured a Man City win.’
Davey Hat-Trick:
‘One of those gallant away performances that we lose, which I hate, and at which Newcastle are well-practiced.
Over the 90 minutes we matched Man City – or better – and with more composure in the final third may have got something out of the game.
The way the Man City players, staff and crowd celebrated the final whistle tells you all you need know about how close we ran them. After our midweek exertions, it was a little more than I was expecting.
But it’s still zero points and it’s still depressing.
One thing I do know is that Man City won’t be relishing the FA Cup tie at our place.’
The Armchair Fan:
‘Played really well and deserved at least a point.
What are the rules about someone being pushed offside?!
Nothing to fear in the upcoming FA Cup tie, got a feeling we might win that.’
Manchester City 2 Newcastle 1 – Saturday 21 February 2026 8pm
Match Stats
Goals:
Newcastle United :
Hall 22
Man City:
O’Reilly 14, 27
Possession was Newcastle 45% Man City 55%
Total shots were Newcastle 13 Man City 15
Shots on target were Newcastle 7 Man City 7
Corners were Newcastle 5 Man City 5
Touches in the opposition box Newcastle 18 Man City 28
Newcastle team v Man City:
Pope, Trippier, Thiaw, Burn, Hall, Tonali, Ramsey, Willock (Barnes 60), Elanga (Jacob Murphy 78), Gordon (Osula 78), Woltemade (Joelinton 60)
Subs:
Ruddy, Ramsdale, Alex Murphy, Shahar, Neave