I saw Erling Haaland's worrying full time reaction after Newcastle frustrations

Erling Haaland of Manchester City applauds the fans following the Premier League match between Newcastle United and City
-Credit: (Image: Reach Publishing Services Limited)


Manchester City were held for a second successive Premier League game as Newcastle battled back for a point at St James' Park.

City were made to work for their first half lead in a tight game of few chances. But when Jack Grealish skipped past Keiran Trippier, Josko Gvardiol popped up in the box and cut inside to find the bottom corner.

However, Newcastle improved after the break and won a penalty through Anthony Gordon, who stepped up and scored. Nick Pope produced two brilliant saves late on to preserve a point for the hosts, and City were made to settle with a second league draw in a row.

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These are the moments you might have missed from St James' Park.

Pep's damning reaction to Gvardiol error

Newcastle targeted Josko Gvardiol from the start - Kieran Trippier and Jacob Murphy taking turns in skipping down the Newcastle right as Gvardiol tucked inside to make a back three in possession. With the hosts trying to expose him, the last thing he needed was an unforced error.

Even more unforgivable would be to commit a cardinal sin of Guardiola's right in front of the manager. When City earned a throw to take off some pressure, Gvardiol first failed to get the ball in play at all, and then quickly gave possession back to Newcastle by launching his second attempt straight back to the hosts. Guardiola was clearly annoyed in his technical area, and his head was in his hands when the officials pulled play back for a foul throw.

It is a pet hate of Guardiola for players to not throw the ball in correctly - Joao Cancelo was substituted at Southampton two seasons ago for a terrible performance which included two foul throws - so Gvardiol did his half-time experience no harm by popping up with a well-taken goal. Guardiola had his hands in the air in celebration to cap off a mixed 45 minutes for City's left-back.

Walker vs Pep round two

Against Arsenal, Kyle Walker was complaining to the officials at the award of their controversial first goal, and again he was in the ear of the referee when Newcastle equalised. Gordon got behind the City defence, tempted a foul from Ederson, and converted the penalty. As St James' celebrated, Walker was complaining to referee Jarred Gillett, before Pep Guardiola bellowed at him to stop - just like he had six days before.

Walker gave it back, just like last weekend, and Guardiola returned with more. In the end, Walker turned his back to the manager and tried to have a go at Manu Akanji and Ruben Dias for their role in the goal. In reality, it was probably a collective failure rather than any individual error.

Full time friendships

After 98 minutes of hotly-contested battle, City and Newcastle shared the points which suited the hosts far more than City. Guardiola and Eddie Howe shared a long chat on the touchline, while the full-time whistle was the signal for plenty of international colleagues to catch up and draw a line under the previous couple of hours.

John Stones and Trippier had a long chat, before Stones headed for Anthony Gordon to reflect on the game. Jack Grealish had spent his game picking battles with half the Newcastle team, but was in good spirits with Pope and then Gordon before heading back to the dressing room.

And when Grealish made his way down the tunnel, he was the subject of criticism from the locals at St James' Park who took the opportunity to give some grief to the City man. Grealish, never one to duck away from a chance to interact with supporters, pointed at one particular fan, brought his finger to his lips, and told him to be quiet - before heading back to the dressing room with a grin all over his face.

Haaland's frustration

While spirits were high among some players, Erling Haaland was not too happy at full-time. He had spent the first half getting clattered by Dan Burn, one challenge ripping his socks and prompting a limp until half-time. Haaland emerged and played the full 90, but barely got a look in in a difficult game.

In injury time, a strange stoppage saw the referee award a drop ball to Newcastle, with Haaland urging him to speed things up and restart the game to try and find a winner. At full time, he headed straight for the away fans to thank them, before walking to the dressing room without many handshakes unless they were on his path.

He could have equalled Sergio Aguero's record for scoring in six successive goals at the start of a Premier League season, but the most he had in the way of chances were a tame shot at Pope and a late header straight at the goalkeeper.