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Manchester City thrashed Newcastle United 5-0 in the Premier League on Sunday, May 8. They removed all memories of a disappointing midweek loss in their European campaign in style with a win.
After being knocked out of the UEFA Champions League in heartbreaking fashion, City were eager to keep the race for the PL title on track. A win would have taken them three points clear of Liverpool with two games to play.
Newcastle, on the other hand, lost 1-0 to the Reds in their last game. Eddie Howe's side entered this game keen to continue their incredible resurgence in 2022 with another positive result.
City started the game slowly, struggling to put together silky passes like they usually do. They were also put under some early pressure by Newcastle but that did not last long.
Raheem Sterling opened the scoring for Manchester City in the 19th minute. Joao Cancelo did extremely well to head the ball across goal towards the Englishman, who nodded in to make it 1-0. It was a special goal for him as he became only the second player after Sergio Aguero to score 50 goals at the Etihad Stadium.
Newcastle tried to claw their way back into the game, upping the ante with a more physical and intense style of play. Allan Saint-Maximin did well to make a few runs at City's defense, but provided no end product. Meanwhile, Kevin De Bruyne was incredible for the hosts as he pulled the strings from midfield.
Manchester City doubled their lead after 38 minutes as Aymeric Laporte scored from close-range. Despite not being at their blistering best, the hosts went into the break with a comfortable 2-0 lead over Newcastle United.
Oleksandr Zinchenko started to get more involved in the game as the second period kicked off. He combined with Ilkay Gundogan and helped Manchester City advance the ball into dangerous areas on the pitch. Pep Guardiola seemed to have passed a strong message to his side to exercise caution and not be as fearless as the first half.
However, his players had other plans as they continued to push bodies forward. Rodri made it 3-0 just after the hour-mark as he converted from De Bruyne's corner. Soon after the goal, Guardiola subbed off Gabriel Jesus and brought Phil Foden into the game.
Meanwhile, Newcastle failed to keep hold of the ball for longer than a handful of passes. They failed to register a shot on target for the better part of the game.
Saint-Maximin was the only player running around and chasing the ball in an attempt to bring Newcastle back into the game. Substitute Calum Wilson, too, came close to hitting the target on a couple of occasions. However, Manchester City continued to play with swagger and prevented any sort of a comeback.
Foden put the icing on the cake with a goal in the 90th minute, with Zinchenko providing the assist for the goal. Sterling added the cherry on top with a fifth moments later, assisted by Jack Grealish. Guardiola was seen pumping his fists in the air as the quality of his side's football left him ecstatic.
Manchester City held on to secure a big win, edging closer to the title. That said, let's take a look at their player ratings from the game.
Manchester City Player Ratings
Ederson - 7/10
Ederson had a decent game and managed to keep a clean sheet. He made three saves, all in the second period.
Joao Cancelo - 7/10
Cancelo looked lively as he started on the right side of defense. He won six of his 14 duels and made one interception.
Ruben Dias - 6.5/10
Dias had a decent first half following a dismal performance in City's last game against Real Madrid in the Champions League. He was subbed off at half-time after suffering an injury.
Aymeric Laporte - 7.5/10
Laporte looked composed at the back as dominated Newcastle's forwards. He also scored a goal that doubled his side's lead in the 38th minute, won all three of his aerial duels and made two clearances.
Oleksandr Zinchenko - 7/10
Zinchenko looked eager to drive forward and made useful overlapping runs to provide support to his teammates. He also got an assist on the night.
Kevin De Bruyne - 9/10
De Bruyne ran the show at the heart of Manchester City's midfield. He was named the Player of the Match for his performance.
The Belgian played six key passes, created three big chances and played four accurate long balls in five attempts. De Bruyne also completed 50 out of 55 passes at 91% accuracy.
Rodri - 7.5/10
The Spaniard was solid in defensive midfield as he helped his side thwart any advances by Newcastle. He scored from his only shot on target to put his side 3-0 up.
Ilkay Gundogan - 7/10
Gundogan was the chief distributor of the ball for Manchester City today as he used his passing abilities to dictate the tempo of the game.
Raheem Sterling - 8.5/10
Sterling looked sharp in the first half of the game. He opened the scoring in the 19th minute with a header at the back-post and added a second goal late in the game to make it 5-0.
Gabriel Jesus - 7/10
The Brazilian looked great with the ball at his feet as he dribbled and weaved his way through Newcastle's defense with ease. Jesus may not have scored but was influential to the way City played in attack.
Jack Grealish - 7/10
Grealish seemed to have been bogged down by his narrow miss in the CL semi-final. He started the game slowly and soon began finding his feet following some smooth passing moves. The Englishman ended the game well, even providing the assist for Manchester City's fourth goal.
Substitutes
Fernandinho - 6.5/10
Fernandinho was brought on at the interval to replace the injured Dias. He added some physicality in midfield and prevented Newcastle from growing into the game.
Phil Foden - 7.5/10
Foden revitalised Manchester City's attack after coming on midway through the second half. He scored a late goal to put his side four goals to the good.
CJ Egan-Riley - N/A
He came on late in the game to make his Premier League and played very few minutes to warrant a rating.
