Erling Halaand rattled as Newcastle deny Man City and show sharp response after Fulham farce
Newcastle United's clash with Manchester City was dubbed "Oil Clasico" in the build-up to this eagerly anticipated encounter at St James' Park.
The heavyweight contest of both Middle East owned clubs was far from a spectacle but at least the Magpies showed they could live with City. And this was a far cry from the 3-1 loss against Fulham last week when Newcastle failed to turn up in the first half.
Having been hauled back into the game by Anthony Gordon's second half penalty, following Josko Gvardiol's opener, Newcastle pressured the champions in the second half but City had their moments too.
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But crucially Erling Halaand was left frustrated and rattled as the 10-goal top scorer left without getting on the score sheet after seeing Dan Burn get under his skin at times. As Newcastle went off to warm applause, there was a feeling of acceptance from home fans that this was far from the worst result in the world.
The visitors won the toss and opted to make Newcastle shoot towards the Gallowgate End on a sunny late summer Saturday lunchtime. City earned a corner with five minutes on the clock after Manuel Akanji's effort was deflected wide.
A minute later Erling Haaland had his first sight of goal but could only fire a tame shot straight at Nick Pope on the turn. Newcastle pressed forward in the 14th minute with a decent move that culminated in Kieran Trippier firing a shot at goal but Jack Grealish made what would be a painful block to clear the ball for a corner.
But the game drifted past the mid-way stage of the first half with the scores locked at 0-0 with both sides playing a cautious game. However, things started to heat up soon after as Jack Grealish steamed into Fabian Schar before making a verbal remark.
Moments later Schar went for retribution and upended the England star before getting a yellow card for his trouble. A no-nonsense challenge from Halaand on Dan Burn then followed.
Bruno Guimaraes was then penalised for steaming in on Ilkay Gundogan and was booked to leave himself skating on thin ice.
City went ahead 10 minutes before the break as Grealish rolled the ball to Josko Gvardiol who cut inside and easily drifted past Burn before rolling it casually into the corner. Newcastle were behind without managing a serious threat to the visitors' goal.
There was a real let-off for Burn when he lost the ball with Gundogan cashing in but despite Nick Pope being off his line, the keeper recovered the situation. A late response at the end of the first half saw Joelinton force Ederson into a fine save but the Magpies went in at the break 1-0 down.
Newcastle thought they should have had a penalty early in the second half when Barnes was upended by Kyle Walker but nothing was given. But referee Jarred Gillett did point to the spot on 56 minutes when Gordon went zipping through the middle and tried to take it around Ederson.
The Brazil star did enough to send Gordon flying and the penalty was awarded at the Leazes End. Gordon composed himself before sending the keeper the wrong way and confidently dispatching the ball into the left-hand corner to make it 1-1.
Joelinton joined Bruno in the book to collect his fourth yellow card of the season and find himself on the brink of an early season ban. Man City introduced Phil Foden mid-way through the second half with Gundogan taken off.
Foden latched on to Halaand's knock down with 18 minutes to go but it was straight at Pope. Newcastle made a treble change when Sean Longstaff, Joe Willock and Tino Livramento replaced Barnes, Tonali and Trippier.
At that stage Newcastle had 13 minute plus added time to push on and get all three points. Longstaff was then slipped in by Murphy, who cut the ball across from the right, but his effort went wide.
City introduced Savinho and Jeremy Doku for the final 10 minutes to hand Newcastle one final test to deal with. As City pressed at the start of seven minutes of added time Bernardo saw Pope tip over a powerful effort that seemed destined for the top corner.
Halaand was presented with a late chance from Savinho's cross but it went straight at Pope. But the game ended in stalemate on a day when Newcastle might have accepted a point against the champions given what unfolded against Fulham last weekend.
Referee: Jarred Gillett (Australia)
Attendance: 52,248