Silva polish as Pep stars shine
MAN CITY 5 NEWCASTLE 0
DAVID SILVA reminded Manchester City how much they will miss him with a moment of brilliance.
The 34-year-old will bring down the curtain on an incredible 10 years at the club when he leaves at the end of this season.
But if his wonderful free-kick in the 65th minute proves to be his last goal at the Etihad, it will be a fitting one for someone who has been a true Premier League great.
The Spaniard’s effort sealed a routine win for City, who took the lead through Gabriel Jesus, doubled it thanks to Riyad Mahrez and profited from an own goal from Federico Fernandez and a stoppage-time fifth from Raheem Sterling to pile on the pain for the Magpies.
City boss Pep Guardiola made five changes to the side that lost at Southampton, including the return of John Stones for his first league start since January.
Kevin De Bruyne also returned alongside Phil Foden, which would not have been what the visitors wanted to see, given the thrilling form that duo had been in.
The Magpies made six changes – Fabian Schar, Danny Rose, Deandre Yedlin, Valentino Lazaro, Matt Ritchie and Nabil Bentaleb all returned as Steve Bruce rotated his squad.
Mahrez tested Martin Dubravka inside three minutes to set the tone.
And it took them just 10 minutes to go ahead when Foden and Silva combined to set up Jesus, who converted with a simple finish to notch his first goal in nine games. It was also his 19th goal of the season and a much-needed one to boost his confidence ahead of a busy finish to the campaign for his treble-chasing side.
Foden could have doubled the lead soon after when he weaved through the Magpies defence before lashing a shot just wide, but Mahrez made no mistake in the 21st minute with a clinical finish from De Bruyne’s pass to make it 2-0.
Game over. It was now a case of how many City would get as the visitors went into damage limitation mode, with Steve Bruce refusing to make any changes until his side were 4-0 down.
The only surprise was that it was just three following Fernandez’s defensive error after a mix-up with Matt Ritchie.
Silva’s moment of magic made it four and the last word came from substitute Sterling at the death.
MANCHESTER CITY (4-3-3): Ederson 7; Cancelo 7 (Walker 46, 7), Stones 7, Otamendi 7, Zinchenko 7; Rodri 7 (Gundogan 46, 7), De Bruyne 8, D SILVA 9; Mahrez 8 (Doyle 75), Foden 7 (B Silva 62, 7), Jesus 7 (Sterling 62, 7). Subs: Bravo, Laporte, Fernandinho, Garcia. NEWCASTLE (5-4-1): Dubravka 6; Krafth 6 (Muto 84), SCHAR 7, Yedlin 5, Fernandez 6, Rose 6; Bentaleb 6, Lazaro 5 (Manquillo 66, 6), Shelvey 4 (M Longstaff 66, 6); Ritchie 6 (Atsu 84); Joelinton 6 (Gayle 66, 6). Subs: Almiron, Darlow, Allan, Young. REFEREE: Andy Madley 7.