On the evening of September 28, Man City traveled to Newcastle's field with many worries as they had just lost Rodri due to a long-term injury.
Coach Pep Guardiola also surprised everyone when he chose Ilkay Gundogan to start instead of Phil Foden. By arranging Bernardo Silva and Jack Grealish on the wings, Pep showed a clear intention to keep the ball at all costs.
However, Rodri's absence still showed a big impact that The Citizens could not overcome immediately. Their attack was more deadlocked, unable to control the midfield even though they arranged for the duo Rico Lewis and Mateo Kovacic to coordinate and handle the game.
In the 33rd minute, Grealish passed Trippier and passed the ball to Gvardiol who was in the penalty area. The Croatian defender had a beautiful curling shot to open the score for Man City. However, this was just a moment of brilliance rather than the result of convincing play, because after that, The Citizens continued to face many difficulties against Newcastle.
In the 57th minute, goalkeeper Ederson fouled Gordon in the penalty area, Newcastle was awarded a penalty. On the 11m mark, Gordon fooled Ederson and equalized for the home team.
Immediately after that, Pep Guardiola brought on Foden, Doku and Savinho to create a breakthrough. The pressure increased significantly and clear chances were created in the last 20 minutes of the match, but Haaland and Silva both missed.
In the end, Man City shared points with Newcastle after a 1-1 draw. They still top the table but could be overtaken by Liverpool and Aston Villa if they win in Round 6.
