Three-one down, the reigning English champions managed to earn a point against Newcastle United away from home.
When Ilkay Gudogan gave City the lead in the fifth minute of their Sunday night encounter against at St James’ Park, many thought a thrashing was in the making. The German midfielder had found a pocket of space between the two Newcastle centre-backs and put the ball past Nick Pope after collecting it from Bernardo Silva.
Rather than sit back and invite pressure, Newcastle went on the offensive and were rewarded for it when, 28 minutes in, Miguel Almiron bundled over a cross from Allan Saint-Maximin into the net. Eleven minutes later, the Frenchman threaded the ball through to Callum Wilson, and the forward volleyed it from the outside of his boot into the corner of the net, giving the Magpies a shock lead.
The Newcastle faithful must have thought the points were in the bag in the 54th minute when Kieran Trippier slammed his free-kick into the top corner. But, the champions showed their resilience, scoring twice in four minutes past the hour-mark to rescue a point – Erling Haaland and Silva with the crucial strikes.
The Premier League did throw an upset on Sunday as, earlier in the day, Leeds United thrashed Chelsea 3-0 at Elland Road. The Blues started strongly but waned as the clock ticked on, weary because of their opponents’ relentless pressing.
It was that constant pressure that gifted the Whites their opening goal. Summer signing, Brenden Aaronson, bearing down on Edouard Mendy, forced a mistake out of the goalkeeper and walked the ball into an empty net.
The American had scored in the 33rd minute to put Leeds 1-0 ahead. Four minutes later, the Whites went two goals to the good courtesy of Rodrigo Moreno’s flick from a Jack Harrison set piece.
The same pair combined for Leeds’ third, nine minutes past the hour, with the roles reversed. Harrison latched onto Moreno’s flick and converted the chance from close range to increase his side’s lead to three.
Chelsea finished the game with ten men after Kalidou Koulibaly was sent off for a second bookable offence in the 84th minute, completing a miserable night for the Thomas Tuchel’s side.
