IT’S BLUE SKY CLINKING NOW
City can dream of toasting title having put Madrid misery to bed
THEY saved the best to last – a wonderful flowing move with a backheeled return to Jack Grealish from Phil Foden and a roll across the turf to Raheem Sterling, who arrived at pace from the right and buried the ball deep into the net.
It was a perfect finish to a perfect afternoon for Manchester City and one which put the full stop on a statement that last Wednesday’s agonising Champions League semifinal defeat by Real Madrid has left no scars.
Just as importantly it served as a signal to Liverpool and the rest of the Premier League that this Manchester City side will not let up.
Five goals against a Newcastle team who came here having won four of their past five matches was some way to respond to both the Champions
League heartache and to Liverpool’s slip, drawing 1-1 with Tottenham on Saturday night.
On a beautiful afternoon this was a display of sunshine football, which had City manager Pep Guardiola beaming. Sterling started and finished the scoring, with Aymeric Laporte,
Rodri and Foden also getting on the scoresheet. It was quite a contrast to five days ago when Guardiola had sat in a Bernabeu still bouncing after Madrid’s improbable smash-and-grab and said his team needed to “get back to our people” and refocus.
Back in front of their adoring crowd, this was evidence Guardiola and his players had processed their disappointment quickly.
Watching him here it was hard to believe he will not sign a new contract to keep him at the Etihad
Stadium long beyond next summer. Liverpool’s draw with Spurs had given Guardiola a pre-game boost and also the potential cushion of losing one of their final four games and still taking the title.
Such a thought had clearly not entered the heads of City’s players, who came out fired up and kept their foot to the metal throughout.
Newcastle could and should have taken the lead early, Chris Wood blowing a golden chance to head home a pinpoint cross from the right from Allan Saint-Maximin.
City missed an early opening as well, Joao Cancelo sidefooting a back-post cross from Kevin De Bruyne just wide on 15 minutes.
Yet the same route was to pay dividends four minutes later. This time Ilkay Gundogan’s floated effort
was met by Cancelo at the back post and headed towards to the other post, where Sterling nodded home.
Newcastle keeper Martin Dubravka had been alive to deny Cancelo’s fierce effort at his near post on 25 minutes but he was at fault as City doubled their lead seven minutes before the break, spilling Gundogan’s bullet shot into the path of Laporte to score.
It took until the hour mark for Guardiola’s team to increase their lead.
Rodri got ahead of a static Joelinton to head in at the near post – the culmination of a training ground routine judging by the instant dedication to his bench from the City manager. Newcastle’s fans did their best to stay prickly despite the deflating effect of the scoreline ticking up. “Champions League… and you f ***** d it up” was a popular refrain. But it only served to poke the bear.
Oleksandr Zinchenko forced a fine tipped save from Dubravka and then, with 90 minutes up, provided an assist after a shot on the turn was deflected past the goalkeeper by Foden, left. Two minutes later came the finale, Sterling finishing off to ensure City were on the right side of a stoppage-time knockout. Wolves at Molineux on Wednesday followed by West Ham away next Sunday, then Aston Villa at home on the final day now stand in their way. Back on track for a fourth title in six years under Guardiola.