Manchester City stepped up their Premier League title charge as Nico O’Reilly’s double sealed a vital 2-1 win against Newcastle on Saturday.
O’Reilly put City ahead in the first half at the Etihad Stadium and restored their lead after Lewis Hall had equalised.
Pep Guardiola’s side weren’t at their best but they held on for a victory that moved them within two points of leaders Arsenal.
The Gunners travel to Tottenham on Sunday, but regardless of the result in the north London derby, City controls the destiny of the title.
They will have a game in hand on Arsenal after this weekend and host Mikel Arteta’s men in April, with 11 wins from their last 11 matches guaranteed to secure the seventh title of Guardiola’s reign.
Guardiola had claimed on Friday that he “couldn’t care less” about Arsenal’s recent stumble breathing new life into the title race.
But while Arsenal have spluttered with two wins from their last seven league games, City are heating up at just the right time.
A fifth successive win in all competitions extended their unbeaten run to eight games.
This was the fourth meeting between City and Newcastle already this season, with a fifth on the way in the last 16 of the FA Cup next month.
Newcastle had never managed a win in 20 previous visits to the Etihad Stadium in the Premier League, also losing there in the League Cup semi-finals this season.
Drained by a 5,000-mile round trip to Baku for their Champions League play-off first leg against Qarabag on Wednesday, Newcastle had persuaded the Premier League to move their trip to Manchester to Saturday evening from its original early slot.
Tense finale
City wasted little time testing Newcastle’s fatigue levels with a vibrant start.
Their early pressure paid off with an eye-catching opener in the 14th minute.
After Erling Haaland flicked the ball into Omar Marmoush, the Egyptian played a clever pass towards O’Reilly, who advanced to the edge of the area and planted a powerful finish past Nick Pope.
Anthony Gordon scored four times in Newcastle’s 6-1 rout of Qarabag and the England forward threatened an immediate equaliser with a stinging strike that Gianluigi Donnarumma palmed away.
Far too open at the back throughout the game, City were caught by a sucker punch in the 22nd minute.
They made a hash of clearing a corner and Hall pounced with a drive from the edge of the area that took a hefty deflection off City defender Rayan Ait-Nouri on its way past the wrong-footed Donnarumma.
Guardiola’s men hit back, retaking the lead five minutes later.
Picked out by Antoine Semenyo, Haaland lofted a superb cross into the Newcastle area and O’Reilly timed his run perfectly to thump a downwards header past Pope from close range.
Yet Hall went close to a second equaliser after the interval, curling narrowly wide with an audacious effort that drew an admiring thumbs-up from Donnarumma.
Guardiola grew frustrated with City’s failure to kill off Newcastle, urging his players to “keep the ball better” as he stalked the touchline.
The City manager’s blood pressure spiked again when Semenyo shot tamely at Pope from a good position, but City survived the tense finale to keep the pressure on Arsenal.
AFP