Defeat at Newcastle could be fatal for Man City's title hopes

A loss at Liverpool before the international break means City have very little margin of error in the title race but lost on Tyneside last season

Manchester City’s trip to Newcastle brings a timely reminder of why it’s still far too early to make any predictions about the Premier League title race.

Click Here: Atlanta United FC Jersey

Just over 10 months ago, Pep Guardiola and his side suffered a shock defeat at St James’ Park that left them four points behind Liverpool having played a game more.

The City players sloped out of Manchester Airport shortly after midnight in January believing that their challenge had collapsed. Even the boss himself doubted whether they could catch the Merseysiders.

But a perfect run of 14 successive victories meant City ultimately pipped Jurgen Klopp’s team to the title by just a single point.

Guardiola was frustrated with his side’s lack of intensity that night, prowling his technical area from early in the game even though Sergio Aguero had given them the lead in just 24 seconds.

After Salomon Rondon and a Matt Ritchie penalty turned the game around in the second half, the City boss kept his players back in the dressing room for an extended debrief.

Captain Vincent Kompany and Aguero, who already had three Premier League medals in their collection, kept their belief. Those two in particular could recall their experiences of winning titles on the very last day of the season.

The pair transmitted their spirit through the squad and the following day Liverpool slipped up at home to Leicester, handing City a lifeline that they clung onto until the final day of the season.

Guardiola insisted he wasn’t angry with his players at Newcastle but admitted that he told them some home truths in the aftermath.

“I never was angry with my players. All I said was the reality of what happened in the game,” he said ahead of Saturday’s lunchtime showdown on Tyneside.

“Saying the truth is not being angry or being grumpy. What happened is my job.

“When we are doing well, I say we are doing well and when we are bad, I say we are bad.

“The reason why we could not win that game is because Newcastle made an incredibly good defensive performance, had two shots on target and we didn’t play like we could.”

Guardiola described his side as unrecognisable immediately after the game.

Victory had appeared well within their grasp when Aguero scored early and then had another one harshly ruled out soon after. But City failed to maintain their hard work throughout and a sloppy second half let the Magpies back in. And this weekend, they won’t have their talisman either after Aguero was injured last week against Chelsea.

“We played slow, we didn’t attack,” Guardiola said. “At 1-0 we forgot to attack, we forgot to counterattack but it’s 12 months ago.

“We’ve learned from that obviously and we spoke about it.

“We had a bad afternoon, we cannot escape that and we spoke about that that’s not the way we are. We can lose games but by being ourselves. Everyone understood that and we took a step forward.”

Rafael Benitez was the mastermind behind the Magpies’ shock victory that freezing cold night – now replaced by Steve Bruce.

But the Spaniard’s biggest principle: “Stay in the game for as long as possible” is hardly likely to change much for Saturday.

City have struggled to kill off teams in recent weeks and have kept just one clean sheet in their last eight games.

That will offer hope that Newcastle can pull off a similar shock. But with City nine points behind Liverpool, this time they need the season’s turning point to come at Newcastle rather than after.

Guardiola believes his side cannot afford any more defeats this season with Liverpool barely putting a foot wrong in their quest for a first title in 30 years.

They were defeated at Anfield before the international break and a trip to St James’ Park will remind them of one of their worst performances of the past 12 months.

“The way we played at Liverpool is not comparable to Newcastle. It was a million times better,” Guardiola added.

Last season’s loss was a near-catastrophic blow to City’s title hopes. A repeat on Saturday could be fatal this time.