Barnes double hits Man City hopes of closing gap on Arsenal

Harvey Barnes scored twice as Newcastle United claimed an entertaining 2-1 victory over Manchester City at St James' Park to dent Pep Guardiola's hopes of closing the gap on league leaders Arsenal.

Guardiola's side arrived on Tyneside knowing a victory would put them just a point behind the leaders, ahead of the Gunners' meeting with Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.

Both teams spurned several golden chances in the first half, with Barnes the main offender as he shot wide with the goal gaping, though he atoned with a cultured finish just after the hour mark.

That was the first of three goals in seven minutes, with Ruben Dias briefly getting City level.

Shortly after, Barnes profited from a goalmouth scramble to restore Newcastle's advantage.

The Magpies held on to climb to 14th in the table, while City stay third and could fall seven points behind Arsenal by the end of the weekend.

How the match unfolded

There were chances at both ends in a high-octane start, with Barnes shooting straight at Gianluigi Donnarumma after intercepting the goalkeeper's errant pass after 28 seconds, before Erling Haaland scuffed an attempt to lob goalkeeper Nick Pope.

Donnarumma then twice denied Nick Woltemade, while Barnes somehow steered Jacob Murphy's cross wide of an open net in the 31st minute.

City had two glorious openings of their own to end the first half, but Haaland shot against Pope's chest and Phil Foden side-footed Rayan Cherki's centre wide.

It was Newcastle that made the breakthrough in the 63rd minute as Barnes placed a classy finish into the bottom-left corner from 20 yards out, and that goal opened the floodgates.

Dias equalised five minutes later as his volley squirmed in via a deflection off Fabian Schar, but Newcastle hit straight back within two further minutes, as Barnes turned the loose ball into the roof of the net after Bruno Guimaraes headed against the woodwork.

City's best chance for a second equaliser fell to unmarked substitute Savinho, but he volleyed high into the stands before Newcastle navigated nine nervy minutes of stoppage time.

Barnes goes from zero to hero

Missed chances have been a theme of Newcastle's season to date, with a return of just 11 goals in their first 11 matches contributing to their disappointing position going into Saturday's match.

Woltemade has been a bright spark since his big-money arrival from Stuttgart, scoring four goals in his first eight Premier League matches, and he drew a pair of big saves from Donnarumma in the first half, both down low to the 'keeper's right.

But while Donnarumma deserved credit for keeping Woltemade at bay, the Italian was the beneficiary of some wastefulness from Barnes before the break. The winger looked to be caught off guard for his early chance, but his later miss, with the goal completely unguarded, was even worse.

However, Barnes found his shooting boots at half-time. He showed great awareness when Guimaraes flicked the ball into his path to apply a crisp finish for his first goal, while his second (below) was all about opportunism amid a goalmouth scramble.

Newcastle had thrown away leads in their back-to-back defeats to West Ham United and Brentford prior to the international break, but Eddie Howe shored things up to ensure there would be no repeat by introducing Sven Botman and switching to a back five.

The win should provide a major confidence boost for the Magpies, who visit Marseille in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday before travelling to Everton next Saturday.

Haaland's wait for a century goes on

City looked to be back to their best in their 3-0 triumph over Liverpool before the international window, and playing before Arsenal this weekend gave them the opportunity to dial up the pressure on their title rivals.

Haaland reached 99 Premier League goals in that win over the champions, and he was hunting a century at the former stomping ground of the competition's all-time leading goalscorer, Alan Shearer.

But Haaland's usually deadly finishing deserted him. He miskicked when Pope was bearing down on him early on, before an instinctive effort from Nico O'Reilly's cutback struck the 'keeper, who knew little about the save.

Jeremy Doku was also heavily involved for City, and he appealed in vain for a penalty after seeing a shot strike Malick Thiaw's arm, while Foden also had a petition waved away after going down under Schar's challenge.

City started the second half brightly with Bernardo Silva curling wide, but two defensive lapses in seven minutes cost them. Their entire midfield was bypassed by Guimaraes' run for the first goal, and five blue shirts were beaten to the ball by Barnes for the second.

Having worked so hard to put pressure on Arsenal, they could now find themselves well adrift of the leaders before next Saturday's meeting with Leeds United. Before then, Man City host Bayer Leverkusen in the UEFA Champions League.

Club reports

Newcastle report | Man City report

What the managers said

Eddie Howe: "The mindset was key and the attitude. The energy was back that was missing against Brentford and West Ham. Our running ability and power was there. Our technical ability was there too, which hasn't always been the case.

"We were brave in our approach. We tried to be aggressive, and we got rewarded that at times, they punish you for that at times, so you are always on a bit of a knife-edge against them. Thankfully Nick [Pope] made some good saves when needed them and we got the goals at good times."

Pep Guardiola: "Tight game. Chances. Entertaining game. At the end they scored two goals and we scored one. [Our performance] was really good in general. We had chances. In the second half we had more chances but unfortunately today we could not finish.

"I know that the intensity and high pressing is really good and unfortunately we could not, in the second half when we had chances, they won duels. They provoked this kind of game and it was difficult."

Next PL fixtures

Key facts 

In 2025, only Man City (13) have won more Premier League home games than Newcastle (11). Howe’s side have won 10 and lost three of their last 13 league matches at St James’ Park.

Man City have suffered as many as four defeats in their opening 12 matches of a Premier League season for the first time since 2013/14 (also four). It’s the most defeats a Guardiola side has ever suffered in their opening 12 league matches of a season in the Spaniard’s managerial career.

Newcastle’s Howe picked up his first ever Premier League win over Man City’s Guardiola in his 17th attempt (D2 L14).

Man City have lost three of their last five away games in the Premier League (W1 D1), as many as their previous 13 (W6 D4 L3). Guardiola's side have suffered back-to-back away league defeats for the first time since December 2024 (three in a row).