No let up by City as Toon are torn apart
IT would be easy to put this mauling down to the absence of fans and the lack of adrenaline clearly felt by some teams as this strange season drifts to a conclusion.
But then we remember Manchester City are capable of being exactly this good when the fans are in, while Newcastle are more than capable of being exactly this bad.
Steve Bruce’s team really were very bad indeed. Quite awful. Wretched. Embarrassingly so. Lethargic, half-hearted and without the slightest bit of resilience, they folded like a deckchair on a windy beach. Did they really care? It was hard to tell.
City have attacked the remainder of their Premier League season with real vigour, especially at home where they have scored 17 goals in four games.
Here, inspired by a David Silva masterclass, they completed 93.7 per cent of their 840 passes — and if they take this form into the Champions League when it resumes next month, they have a chance of winning it.
Sure, the opposition here was lamentable. All that Bruce could really do was bark from the touchline in vain.
But still City had to create their chances and score their goals. They could have stopped at one or two. The game was effectively done by the time Gabriel Jesus and Riyad Mahrez scored within 21 minutes.
Pep Guardiola does not allow slackness, however, so his team drove onwards. Federico Fernandez conceded an unfortunate own goal early in the second half and then Silva curled a free-kick in with 25 minutes left.
It was a good strike but entered the goal straight down the middle. Goalkeeper Martin Dubravka — happy to bawl out team-mate Fernandez at a drinks interval — seemed to be doing everything apart from concentrate.
Goals apart — and there was a fifth for sub Raheem Sterling in added time — the night featured another lovely hour from Phil Foden.
Although the moment he poked a lovely Kevin De Bruyne cross wide from only six yards in the second half was interesting for the
Belgian’s reaction. It became clear just how badly he wants to beat Thierry Henry’s assist record for a Premier League season. Currently, he is two short on 18 and the games are starting to run out.
Bruce’s team were without some key names as injuries start to take their toll but there was still no excuse for this display and City were ahead in only the tenth minute.
Silva’s cutback was perfect and Jesus opened his body up nicely to side-foot across Dubravka from ten yards.
Mahrez had already come close before he scored in the 21st minute. Newcastle were sloppy in possession all night and, when Valentino Lazaro coughed up the ball to Silva on the left-hand side, City moved the ball sharply through Foden and De Bruyne. The Belgian’s low cross was converted by Mahrez.
By half-time, only a Fernandez header from a set-piece counted as a Newcastle effort on goal. City threatened twice more, Joao Cancelo’s shot deflected wide and Foden missing the target carelessly after Jonjo Shelvey lost the ball 30 yards from his own goal. Shelvey was dreadful all night but he was not alone.
Fernandez’s own goal arrived just before the hour. Jesus eased in to the penalty area after playing a neat one-two with Foden and when Matt Ritchie tried to clear, he struck the ball against his team-mate and into the net.
Foden was taken off on the hour but soon another young prospect was on the field for a league debut. Tommy Doyle is the grandson of the late Mike, a centre-half for City and, five times, England in the 1960s and 1970s.
So this was a huge night for the Doyle family and young Tommy, just 18, can at least say he shared a field with Silva. The Spaniard was superb here and his free-kick with 25 minutes left embarrassed Newcastle further.
Sterling rolled the ball in for the fifth late on after Silva set him up. Due to leave the club this summer, he remains an example of how to play this game.
Guardiola confirmed that Silva will return for a testimonial once fans are allowed back inside stadiums.
‘He is coming back for the farewell game in front of all the fans because he is an incredible legend,’ said the City boss. ‘They could name a street, a pitch, a statue (after him).
‘David is maybe the best in small spaces, moving between lines — I’ve never seen anyone like him. He came back from lockdown in incredible form and rhythm. If he decides to play on, he can play anywhere, no doubt.
‘The young players have learned by David’s example. He is someone who doesn’t talk much but he leads by example. He’s a huge competitor.’
Bruce, meanwhile, could only bemoan defensive errors after Newcastle’s surrender.
‘We’re disappointed,’ he said. ‘We have to do better. We gifted them goals. If you’re going to come here and play like that, you’re going to be badly beaten.’