Louise Taylor was at St James’ Park for us today. I’ll leave you with her report – good day!

Pep’s verdict

In general we played really good. At 1-0 we made some bad decisions and they defended well. We take a point.

I didn’t see the penalty but apparently it was [the correct decision], yeah.

Mateo [Kovacic] and Rico [Lewis] played really good.

“That feels like the epitome of ‘everyone satisfied with a point’,” says Chris Paraskevas. “Neither team getting anywhere near their best. Some nice rhythms to the game and even a moment or two where it really threatened to break open (maybe just after the equalizer). It felt like a watered down version of the 3-3 classic between these teams a couple of years ago.

“A good point for us but hard to call it a turning point, especially given the absence of the T-1000 (Rodri) and our usual tormentor KDB...”

And Phil Foden for most of the game. City looked much more dangerous against the old low block when he came on.

Fabian Schar’s verdict

We did brilliantly, made it really difficult for them and overall I think it’s a deserved point for both teams. They had only one chance in the first half so it was disappointing that they scored, but we kept going.

The fans gave us some extra energy after we scored. We tried to go again and score the second, but we’ll take the point. Alex [Isak] is a big miss for us, but Anthony [Gordon] was brilliant today.

This game shows what level we can reach. We need to build on this performance.

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90+7 min Savinho takes, big Dan Burn heads clear.

90+7 min Savinho, who surely should have come on earlier, wins one last corner for City…

90+5 min Savinho’s cross is slightly behind Haaland, who heads straight at Pope and boots fresh air in frustration.

90+5 min Two and half minutes left for City to find a winner. They’ve having all the ball now.

90+2 min: Brilliant save by Pope! Bernardo Silva leaps to control a lobbed pass from Foden on the chest, 15 yards out, swivels and hits a rasping volley that is palmed behind by the diving Pope. The save probably felt better than it was because of the quality of Bernardo’s volley; even so, it was high-class goalkeeping.

90+2 min Foden plays a terrific pass inside Livramento to find Doku. He waits for support and lifts a cross that just evades the head of Foden at the near post.

90+1 min There will be 420 seconds of added time.

90 min Ruben Dias takes a yellow by fouling Gordon, who was breaking dangerously for Newcastle.

90 min “Every team playing City should celebrate goals by throwing the ball at Erling Haaland’s head,” says Debra Keates. “What do you think?”

Fun, nice, life, youth. Beautiful. I’m all for it.

89 min Murphy does really well to beat two players and find Joelinton 25 yards out, but he dithers and is dispossessed by Savinho. Good defending.

88 min “It’s not you,” says Ian Copestake. “It’s me. I can’t hang around here waiting for the inevitable City winner having expressed joy at seeing the score followed by despair at how long remains.”

87 min A draw wouldn’t flatter Newcastle, whose excellent spell at the start of the second half merited at least an equaliser. City have been a little bit flat.

86 min “This feels oddly reminiscent of the Premier League of the first decade of this century,” writes Kári Tulinius. “Big meaty men, wayward crosses and needless fouling. I realise the differences are greater than the similarities, but this match has brought me back.”

I have no idea what you are talking about.

85 min Foden’s free-kick is overhit. City keep the ball alive until Kovacic shoots well wide from the edge of the area.

84 min Foden is fouled on the left wing by Guimaraes. A clear foul, though tens of thouands of people at St James’ Park don’t agree. This might be City’s chance…

82 min “I fear Rich Wilks has misunderstood Rosenthal,” writes Matt Dony. “It wasn’t any ennui, or existential angst. It was simply that he realised he knew football. In that moment, football made sense to him. He could do anything, and there was nothing to achieve. Much like Niles Crane remembering his final spelling bee as a student, walking away on the last word. Everyone had thought that he’d choked. But he hadn’t. He had risen above spelling. He knew how to spell, and he knew that he knew how to spell. Rosenthal had risen above football. There was nothing he could achieve by scoring in that moment.”

A sentiment doubtless articulated by his manager Graeme Souness in the dressing-room when Liverpool lost that game 4-2.

81 min: Double substitution for City Savinho and Jeremy Doku on, Jack Grealish (who had a good game) and Rico Lewis (quiet game) off.

80 min Sean Longstaff almost scores with his first touch. Guimaraes found Murphy in a lot of space on the right; he moved infield and guided a pass back to Longstaff, who dragged a first-time shot wide of the far post from 15 yards.

79 min “Going back to all time best Basle XI, Rakitic was in fact born in Switzerland and played for the national team up to under-21s,” says David Ashley. “However finally switched his alliance to his parents place of birth. Croatia’s gain, Switzerland’s loss.”

That totally passed me by.

78 min Make that a triple substitution: Tino Livramento is on for Kieran Trippier, who has run himself into the ground.

77 min: Double substitution for Newcastle Joe Willock and Sean Longstaff come on for Sandro Tonali and Harvey Barnes.

76 min Grealish beats Trippier on the left side of the area and whacks a cross that is headed over by Haaland at the far post. That was a decent chance, certainly for him, because Pope was out of the game.

76 min Haaland’s shot from 15 yards is well blocked by Hall. City have been good in the last five minutes or so, pinning Newcastle inside their third.

75 min “If City always win with Rodri and only lose when he’s not playing, does that mean they won’t win again this season?” says Mark Childs. “I’m joking but it does feel like there’s a Rodri narrative around this game: can City win the league without him?”

They can, of course, but I’d make Arsenal favourites now.

73 min: Chance for Foden! Grealish’s cross is headed away to the edge of the area by Joelinton. Haaland calmly cushions the ball across to Foden, who takes a touch and hits a volley straight at Pope from 15 yards. Not a great chance, but a chance.

71 min Pope dives bravely in front of Haaland to punch the ball away. Good goalkeeping.

70 min City calm the game down by playing a bit of walking football. Eventually Grealish tries to run Trippier, who knocks the ball off Grealish and behind for a goalkick.

68 min If it stays like this, Liverpool, Aston Villa and Arsenal will have the chance to move above City when they play. Has Pep Gu- oh never mind.

66 min: City substitution Phil Foden replaces Ilkay Gundogan.

66 min Walker’s poor pass is intercepted on the edge of the area by Hall, whose dangerous chipped cross is headed away well by Gvardiol.

65 min Gordon’s cross only just evades the sliding Barnes at the far post. Newcastle are on top right now.

64 min “I’m convinced Ronnie Rosenthal had one of Niall Mullen’s moments of existential mid-game angst playing for Liverpool against Villa,” begins Rich Wilks, “when he saw greater value in missing a huge rectangle from a distance of 5 yards than penetrating it, and so gallantly opted for the former.”

Rosenthal!

63 min Joelinton is booked for a tactical foul on Haaland.

62 min Grealish and Tonali are both booked for continuing their tête-à-tête.

61 min: Big appeal for a Newcastle penalty! A long free-kick is headed on towards Joelinton, whose iffy touch allows Walker to challenge from the side. Joelinton goes down, the crowd go up, Jarred Gillett waves play on. It was a strong shoulder charge from Walker, risky but not enough to interest VAR.

Newcastle regain possession and moments later Barnes’ attempted dink is well blocked by the outrushing Ederson. Good save.

61 min “The captains were called over,” says Charles Antaki. “Please tell us that Kyle Walker refused to leave his position and was handed a megaphone by staff on the touch line to communicate with the referee.”

60 min Kovacic is booked for a foul on Tonali, studs into the ankle like the good old days.

59 min “Seeing FC Basel products Akanji and Schar line up against each other reminds me how great the all-time FC Basel XI would look with a spine of Yann Sommer, Schar, Akanji, Xhaka, Rakitic, Salah, and Shaqiri,” says Amar Breckenridge.

Blimey, I had no idea Rakitic played for them. Gokhan Inler is another one, although there might be room in that midfield.

58 min Pep is wagging his finger. There’s no doubt Gordon initiated what little contact there was, but we see that all the time these days.

56 min: Penalty to Newcastle! Gordon gets away from Akanji, goes round Ederson and waits for the contact. Kyle Walker was playing him onside so this should stand.

Ederson is booked. He didn’t do much wrong but I guess Gordon has the right to run into his outstretched arm.

54 min Schar plays a quick-witted early pass to find Gordon one v one with Akanji, who moves smoothly through the gears to clear the danger. Good defending.

53 min VAR checked the Grealish incident but it didn’t constitute violent conduct. It has at least added a bit of edge to a fairly sleepy game.

52 min Tonali goes down in his own area after a slight elbow to the chest from Grealish. Play continues and Haaland’s shot is deflected wide.

Jarred Gillett calls both captains over for a word.

51 min Joelinton’s cross is headed across goal by Schar, who was up front in open play, and away from danger. Barnes goes over under a challenge from Walker but nobody is interested.

50 min “According to the late, great Gorilla Monsoon of WWF/WWE fame, a hit to the breadbasket was a blow to the stomach,” says Ashley Collins. “Grealish was struck in ‘the lower abdominal regions’.”

Ah fair enough – I thought it actually was the breadbasket, I wasn’t being euphemistic. If he gets hit in the ballocks I’ll say so.

49 min Nothing to report. Newcastle can’t score if City have the ball, and they do.

47 min “Greetings from still pitch dark California,” writes Mary Waltz. “City loses Rodri, KDB in and out of the line-up. This would crush most teams. Newcastle played a disciplined Howe style first half. Yet they trail and a City win looks inevitable. We can rage against the machine but is it pointless?”

Life? Yeah probably.

46 min Peep peep! City begin the second half.

Half-time reading

45+1 min: Good save by Ederson! A long free-kick into the City area is headed on by Burn. Joelinton controls it on the stretch, turns and belts an excellent shot that is really well saved by the diving Ederson. There’s a bit of a scramble thereafter, with the crowd appealing for a penalty, but nothing comes of it.

45 min One minute of added fare.

43 min Grealish, City’s brighest attacker so far, tees up Akanji for a shot that deflects behind. It’s headed away and Murphy runs 70 yards down the left before his cutback is blocked by Walker.

42 min “With no parallels to be drawn with my own life I wonder if a team has ever just realised the pointlessness of it all mid-match?” says Niall Mullen. “At some stage the sheer triviality of the endeavour juxtaposed with the intense pressure surrounding it must punch them in the solar plexus. There must be a chance that at least one player would go all Richie Tenenbaum.”

That’s seventy-two misplaced passes from Rob Smyth…

41 min “Where’s your famous atmosphere?” enquire the City fans. Gundogan plays an excellent through pass to Haaland, who gets away from Burn on the edge of the area but leaves the ball behind him. City could have scored three in the last 10 minutes.

40 min: Chance for City! A dreadful pass from Pope goes straight to Gundogan, who has a two on one with Haaland to his left. Gundogan tries to chip Pope from about 40 yards but completely underhits it.

39 min Haaland’s wound was created when he ragdolled Burn, whose studs went into Haaland’s Achilles as he fell.

38 min “On Ederson’s backheel, this is just a routine league game,” writes S McInally. “What about doing it in a European Cup final?”

Blimey, that’s great, I’ve never seen it before.

37 min Haaland has a cut on his Achilles, for which he received a bit of treatment after the goal. He’s playing on for now and has just headed a corner away at the near post.

Grealish lost Trippier on the left and slipped an early pass into Gvardiol in the area. He cut inside Burn, who expected the first-time shot, and slid a careful right-footed shot across Pope. It took a slight touch off Tonali but I think it was going in anyway, and the coolness with which he beat Burn was exemplary.

34 min “Much like their rivals Liverpool, who dislike the 12.30 Slot, City’s seeming lethargy today suggests they’re in need of a Pep up,” says Jeremy Boyce. “Ptishhhh... Is he still in his seat or throwing some shapes in the technical area? I’ll get my coat...”

We haven’t seen him for a while. I’d love to hear his internal monologue because City have been well short of his standards.

32 min Guimaraes wipes out Gundogan and is booked.

32 min Not much of a game, this.

29 min “The way this match is progressing, I see a first goal by Newcastle which will wake City up,” says Krishnamoorthy V. “Final score: Newcastle 1-4 City.”

28 min A better ball from Bernardo, threaded towards the far post, is put behind by Trippier. That was a crucial touch because Haaland – who had ragdolled Dan Burn earlier in the move - was waiting behind him to score.

27 min Bernardo Silva’s pass is behind Gundogan on the edge of the area, which means his first-time shot hits his standing foot and goes well wide.

27 min “Have City only named eight subs,” says Richard Hirst, “or has the Grauniad failed to list one of them?”

Woe is City.

26 min Schar is booked for a tactical foul on Grealish.

25 min A Newcastle corner brushes the head of Haaland at the near post, hits Grealish and goes behind for another. Newcastle have a big physical advantage on corners: Lewis is marking Joelinton, Bernardo Silva is on Dan Burn.

23 min City aren’t really at the races. Maybe it’s a 12.30 thing. I should stress that Ederson hasn’t had a save to make either, so they’re not exactly all over the show, but Newcastle do look more threatening.

19 min Newcastle are having a good spell and City look a bit lethargic. Gvardiol has just had his collar felt for a foul throw, which doesn’t happen often a City player.

16 min Kieran Trippier has changed his right boot, which means he’s now wearing odd boots. Well flippin’ futile.

14 min Newcastle break promisingly, only for Barnes to overhit his pass to the overlapping Joelinton. They do look a threat going forward, particularly in transition, and moments later Trippier’s fierce shot flattens Grealish. It hit him right in the breadbasket.

13 min City’s passing so far has been very deliberate, arguably to a fault. I guess it’s all credit in the bank for the last 10-15 minutes of the game.

11 min “City clearly not on it today; Fulham were one up against Newcastle by now,” says Richard Hirst. “Bodes well for us against City next week (yes, I’m currently eating funky French cheese for lunch!).”

Fulham are looking good aren’t they? So nice to see Emile Smith Rowe and Raul Jimenez doing well.

10 min Ederson is challenged by Gordon 30 yards from goal and plays the most nonchalant backheel to Kyle Walker. Tremendous scenes.

8 min City’s formation is closer to 4-1-4-1/4-1-2-3, with Kovacic the deepest midfielder. Lewis is forward to the right, Gundogan to the left.

7 min City are starting to control the game, as you’d expect. Gundogan plays a simple pass into Haaland, whose shot on the turn is comfortably saved by Pope.

5 min Grealish teases his man and lays the ball back to Akanji on the edge of the area. His shot deflects behind off Tonali.

4 min Grealish cuts inside Trippier and hits a shot that is headed away by Schar. Pep is already chuntering away to his grinning assistant, not sure why.

2 min Schar sprays a terrific long pass out to Trippier, who loses Gvardiol on the edge of the area. Ederson comes out to dive at his feet.

1 min Peep peep! Newcastle kick off from left to right as we watch, and Harvey Barnes has a shot blocked inside 25 seconds.

A reminder of the teams

Newcastle (4-3-3) Pope; Trippier, Schar, Burn, Hall; Tonali, Guimaraes, Joelinton; J Murphy, Gordon, Barnes.
Substitutes: Dubravka, Krafth, Osula, Livramento, Almiron, Kelly, Willock, Longstaff, A Murphy.

Man City (4-2-3-1) Ederson; Walker, Dias, Akanji, Gvardiol; Lewis, Kovacic; Bernardo, Gundogan, Grealish; Haaland.
Substitutes: Ortega Moreno, Carson, Stones, Doku, Savinho, Nunes, Foden, McAtee.

Referee Jarred Gillett.

“G’day Rob,” writes Chris Paraskevas, our Australia Newcastle correspondent. “Hope you’re well. Firstly, I hope Darren Eales gets better. No popcorn and no kale chips tonight: I’ve been on an MSG/chilli sauce/French fries binge from around midday, and there’s a melted M&M McFlurry (with a flake and caramel topping) being salvaged in the freezer.

“There is definitely something to winning points when playing badly, but since the fourth place finish, some Newcastle ‘stars’ have seemed weighed down rather than galvanised. Oasis Breakup Reboot FC are the last team you want rolling into toon at a time when things aren’t clicking.

“Early days in the season but nonetheless, some red flags appearing on and off the pitch...”

This business with Paul Mitchell and Eddie Howe sounds a bit weird. Not sure how that can end with everyone enjoying milk and cookies.

“I had a dream for two nights running that Kyle Walker is going to have a nightmare game against Newcastle,” writes David Bronstein. “Visions of an own goal and or a red card. You heard it here first.”

Have you been on the funky cheese again?

He’s on the bench today. Cheers, Pep.

2 February 2025, 4.30pm (probably)