Manchester City 3-2 Newcastle United (13 Jan, 2024) Game Analysis

Manchester City's Kevin de Bruyne sparked his side's late 3-2 victory at Newcastle United on Saturday in their first Premier League match since the opening day of the season.

The influential midfielder – out since August with a hamstring injury – came off the bench in the 69th minute with City trailing 2-1 and equalized with a clinically low finish.

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He then played the perfect stoppage-time pass for fellow substitute Oscar Bobb to secure the three points that lifted champions City into second place, two points behind Liverpool.

Bernardo Silva, the man replaced by De Bruyne, had given City the lead in the 26th minute with a superb finish from close range, but Pep Guardiola's side were quickly pushed back on their heels.

Alexander Isak equalized in the 35th minute and Anthony Gordon drove the home fans crazy with an almost identical result two minutes later.

But De Bruyne came on and inspired City to victory, and his return will be a welcome one for his teammates and fans.

“I missed it. That's what it is, I had a big injury and I needed some time. I had a lot of fun. I think it was more willpower than anything else. was crazy,” De Bruyne told TNT Sports.

“I know I'm not able to do this for 90 minutes right now. I can work for 30 minutes right now. I feel it in my lungs, especially with the cold.

“It's great to score the goal. The ball is good, but Oscar's run [Bobb] It's incredible. It was great of him. I watch his race. If he doesn't run, I can't pass the ball.

“I think coming here is always tough. Everyone was really happy for me. We want to try to compete for the championship again. We're up there. It was a tough game.”

City boss Pep Guardiola was pleased with his team's fighting spirit as well as the return of De Bruyne.

It was really good, sometimes it's better to win this way for the team, for everything. Amazing team, the way we played with huge personality. They showed me they want to be there to fight until the end and they wanted to retain the title,” Guardiola told the BBC.

“I'm a little upset and grumpy at him [De Bruyne] because he didn't score from a free kick! When the opponents are more tired, Kevin and Oscar propose another rhythm at the end.

“Oscar was a fantastic goal for control. We were really impressed in pre-season, I knew from the second team information that he was special.

“When Kevin has the ball and we have runners, Kevin is unique in the world but the arrival of Oscar, I am so happy for him.”

City have 43 points from 20 games, Liverpool have 45, while Newcastle's fourth consecutive defeat leaves them 10th in the table.