Princes v paupers
They’re two of the world’s richest clubs, but on the pitch it’s...
THE Gulf derby? Gulf in class, more like. ‘We’re richer than you,’ sang the supporters of Saudiowned Newcastle towards their Abu Dhabi-backed adversaries. At 3-0 down, however, it amounted to little more than gallows humour on the Gallowgate.
There is some truth to their claim, at least when it comes to the wealth of their respective Middle-Eastern bank accounts.
But here in the North East, the team with the world’s most affluent owners were made to look like paupers. We will see a few more Christmases yet before there is any chance of this being considered a genuine rivalry.
Pep Guardiola could have stayed at home on reflection, the City boss having been cleared to travel on the back of an inconclusive Covid test. But there was nothing ambiguous about the outcome of this match. Nor was there ever likely to be.
Jamie Carragher said beforehand that it would rank among the biggest shocks in Premier
League history if Newcastle won. The only surprise was that the margin of victory was not more.
Then again, City put seven past Leeds on Tuesday night. They are entitled to the odd afternoon of relaxation, even if that does equate to a 4-0 victory. That is not to detract from their brilliance; it is merely making the point that it was all so easy.
Guardiola did that mildly annoying thing when he said afterwards that his side had been ‘poor’ in the first half. They weren’t. No half that includes a wonder-strike such as Joao Cancelo’s amid complete control can ever be described as poor.
Maybe Guardiola felt that City could have scored more with greater urgency. If so, then OK. But they did not need to. Their players always knew they had enough in hand to win here.
If this is to be the last day of term before a Christmas holiday, then City will be ungrateful for the Covid-enforced break. Why would they want to rest now? They are in machine mode, motoring clear of their rivals — and in winning eight matches on the spin, they have recorded a top-flight record of 34 victories in a calendar year.
Eddie Howe and Newcastle, however, need a timeout. They need the owners to spend serious money in the new year and hope that what should have been their festive fixtures are played post-January at the earliest.
It is often said that, as a manager, you cannot make allowances for individual errors. Whoever is in charge of Newcastle must surely be factoring them in by now.
Ciaran Clark was last seen during the home draw with Norwich in November when he suffered a brain freeze and was sent off for a needless tug on Teemu Pukki. His matter has clearly not thawed in the period in between.
Newcastle had started reasonably enough. Well, they’d got to five minutes and City had not looked like scoring. Enter Clark. Or rather, do not enter. For if the centre back had dealt with a harmless ball dropping inside the six-yard area — instead of ducking out the way — then Newcastle’s parity would have extended to a sixth minute. Heady stuff indeed.
But Ruben Dias could not believe his luck — really, it should not have come as a surprise — and he duly nodded into an open goal from close range.
Clark looked at his goalkeeper, Martin Dubravka, as if suggesting there had been a call. Maybe there was. But Clark had enough time and space to deal with the situation himself. He didn’t and, with it, the game was as good as lost.
You would have forgiven Sky Sports had they switched their live coverage to the far more competitive contest at Molineux.
Howe stood and stared at the stadium clock during a break in play on 10 minutes. Sorry, Eddie,
still 80 to go. By the 27th minute City were 2-0 up. It was a cracking strike by Cancelo, 20 yards and rising towards the top corner. Just as well it did hit the back of the net, for someone behind the goal would have woken up the other side of Christmas had it missed.
A hard hit yet soft defending, again. Cancelo had stepped away from Joe Willock with ease before facing even less resistance from Isaac Hayden, who looked like Rudolph on ice as he slipped over.
The seasonal generosity did not end there. As Cancelo neared the area, Clark and Jamaal Lascelles showed all the mobility of Santa in his final chimney and their stodgy closing down of the full back allowed him to smash home.
Riyad Mahrez volleyed in a third on 63 minutes from Oleksandr Zinchenko’s cross and Raheem Sterling tapped in a fourth after good work from Gabriel Jesus.
Howe later bemoaned the nonaward of a first-half penalty — and rightly so — after Ryan Fraser was cleaned out by Ederson.
But in reality it would have made little difference. The poor relations from Manchester were always going to be too rich in talent for this Newcastle team. NEWCASTLE (4-5-1): Dubravka 5; Murphy 5, Lascelles 5, Clark 4, Ritchie 5; Almiron 5 (Hendrick 80min), Willock 5 (Saint-Maximin 46, 6), Hayden 5.5 (S Longstaff 61, 5), Joelinton 6.5, Fraser 6; Wilson 5.5. Booked: Hayden. Manager: Eddie Howe 5. MANCHESTER CITY (4-2-3-1): Ederson 6.5;
CANCELO 8, Dias 7 (Stones 70, 6), Laporte 7, Zinchenko 7; Rodri 7 (Fernandinho 68, 6), Silva 7.5; Mahrez 7 (Palmer 77), De Bruyne 7, Sterling 7; Jesus 7. Scorers: Dias 5, Cancelo 27, Mahrez 63, Sterling 86. Booked: Rodrigo, Silva. Manager: Pep Guardiola 7. Referee: Martin Atkinson 5. Att: 52,127.