Strengths and weaknesses on show, but Toon must keep calm and carry on

FOR Newcastle, some familiar weaknesses. But equally, some old and familiar strengths. Here was a match that captured what makes them so good, but also explained why their form is so bad. A quarter of their goals conceded this season have come after the 85th minute. A tactical flaw? Or a sign of fatigue in light of injuries? The answer is both. Yet, on Saturday, there was enough to remind you why Eddie Howe’s team finished fourth last year, and why they might have done again if not for a list of absentees that refuses to dip below double figures. When fit and functioning, Newcastle are a match for the world’s best team. For more than an hour they looked fit, they functioned and scored two fantastic goals through Alexander Isak and Anthony Gordon. With 19 minutes to go, they were in front, and few make it as far as that against Manchester City. So, why did they veer off track? In large part because of Kevin De Bruyne — he scored City’s equaliser and created the winner for Oscar Bobb — but also for reasons that are both forgivable and less so. First, the mitigation. Howe’s team press from the front, a six-man battalion of intensity and aggression. They had the league’s best defence last year — one that didn’t have to do a great deal of defending. But when Howe looked to his bench here, he saw kids, keepers and not a single attacking player. Given attack is their first line of defence, they retreated as that battalion ran out of ammo. With changes, you suspect, they would have stayed on the front foot and stayed ahead. What is not so reasonable is allowing De Bruyne the space for his equaliser. Call it No Man’s Land, if you like, because no man in black and white seems to go there. The area between defence and midfield where a No 6 should be. De Bruyne stood there, got the ball, ran forward and scored. In the first half, Pep Guardiola screamed at Phil Foden to leave the wing and stand in the same position. It is a hole Newcastle are doing nothing to plug. There was a little anger among some fans post-match but that will subside. A fourth defeat on the spin, but a performance far removed from the previous three. Isak was outstanding for an hour and the best compliment you

can pay is that he would improve City’s side. Howe said Newcastle remain ‘a very good team capable of beating anyone’, and he’s right. Their season, though, has been plagued by issues beyond their control and also an absence of control at key moments. There should, though, be calm because this game showed how far they have come under Howe, to be depleted yet take City to the wire. And Newcastle’s game is a high-wire act. They may have fallen off here, but there was enough to suggest they will soon regain their balance.

JOELINTON’S home in Northumberland was burgled while he and his family watched the game. The Brazilian, who is injured, received a security alert on his phone and informed police. The property was empty at the time and officers responded but the intruders had fled.