Newcastle hold Manchester City 1-1 in Premier League: Key stats
Newcastle United and Manchester City played to a 1-1 draw in their Premier League showdown at St James's Park. Matchweek 6 of the Premier League 2024-25 season clash its fair share of drama, especially the controversial penalty that was both won and converted by Anthony Gordon. Earlier Man City defender Josko Gvardiol scored for the visitors in the first half. It's a second successive draw for Man City.
Controversial penalty decision sparks debate
The penalty decision came after Gordon was allegedly fouled by Man City's goalkeeper Ederson, who was subsequently shown a yellow card. The officials justified this action by stating that Ederson made "a genuine attempt to play the ball but [denied] an obvious goal-scoring opportunity." Despite the controversy surrounding the incident, Gordon confidently sent Ederson in the wrong direction and successfully converted the penalty.
Manchester City's missed opportunities
Despite having several chances to go ahead, Manchester City couldn't make it happen. Sub Phil Foden squandered a prime opportunity when his shot, following a flick by Erling Haaland, was comfortably saved by Newcastle goalkeeper Nick Pope. Later, Bernardo Silva also had a go with a powerful shot, but it ended up in Pope's hands. This match exposed some cracks in Pep Guardiola's squad as they found it tough against Newcastle's rock-solid defense.
Manchester City's struggles without key players
Manchester City's performance was noticeably affected by the absence of key players Rodri and Kevin De Bruyne. Despite these setbacks, they managed to take the lead before halftime with a goal from Josko Gvardiol. The left-back found the bottom corner from inside the box following some impressive play from Jack Grealish. However, their inability to extend this lead further highlighted their struggles in penetrating Newcastle's deep defense.
Man City are 29 matches unbeaten in Premier League
Man City are unbeaten in 25 Premier League matches so far in 2024 with this draw. Overall, they are also unbeaten in 29 Premier League games. Before this, they drew versus Arsenal 2-2 last weekend. Guardiola's side owns 14 points from six matches (W4, D2) and are top of the table. Newcastle are placed sixth with 11 points (W3 D2 L1).
Here are the match stats
Man City had 16 shots with 6 of them on target. Newcastle had four shots on target from 11 attempts. Man City had 39 touches in the opposition box with Newcastle managing 25. City had 62% ball possession as well.
