Oscar Bobb scored his first Premier League goal to give Manchester City victory over Newcastle United in a thrilling game at St James' Park.
Bernardo Silva gave the champions the lead with a brilliant backheel finish, but Newcastle stunned City with two goals in less than two minutes. Alexander Isak restored parity with a fine curling effort before Anthony Gordon sent St James' Park into a frenzy with an equally impressive finish from the left.
After the break, City increased the pressure and were rewarded when Kevin De Bruyne, back after a five-month layoff with a thigh injury, marched forward and equalized after 74 minutes.
De Bruyne then set up Bobb and scored another fine goal in the first minute of stoppage time.
The Athletic's Chris Waugh, Sam Lee and Thom Harris analyze a breathless game.
How decisive can De Bruyne be upfront?
City had basically tried everything in the second half – keeping an iron grip on the game, winning the ball high up and more easily fending off Newcastle's advances (admittedly they seemed happier when they were in) – but the question was whether they could find a cutting edge.
They had put the ball into the box many times before, but everyone seemed forced to try and set up someone else. Nobody wanted to take responsibility (apart from two quick half-volleys from Bernardo).
Then De Bruyne comes into play, is skilfully served by the imperious Rodri and, five minutes after his return to the league, scores the much-needed equalizer for the first time since the opening night of the season.
The Newcastle vs Manchester City match dashboard shows how City controlled the game but Newcastle maintained a counter-attack threat
He had already set up a good chance from a typical wide right position and then, with City's coaches on a rampage in the third minute of stoppage time, he caught winger Bobb with a textbook pass over the ball and the Norwegian showed nice feet to drive one in very important winner.
Bobb has really earned Guardiola's trust this season, particularly in the last few weeks, and expect to see more of him after this.
Sam Lee
How did Newcastle score two goals in 139 seconds?
Newcastle's strategy was one of high risk but high reward. They often ceded possession and territory to the visitors, who had 69 percent of the ball in the first half. But in response, the home team threw bodies forward on the counterattack and tried to avoid City's offside trap.
At the start Miguel Almiron and Isak were offside and Sean Longstaff saw a goal disallowed within three minutes. But Newcastle carried on and scored a stunning goal in the 35th minute. Fabian Schar came out of defense and fended off Jeremy Doku on the right flank with a powerful tackle before centering on Bruno Guimaraes.
For the first time, without looking, the Brazilian midfielder swung his right boot and sent Isak through with a great through ball. Isak controlled, advanced into the penalty area, completely overwhelmed Kyle Walker and then fired a superb shot into the right corner.
Isak's shot flies in (Simon Stacpoole/Offside/Offside via Getty Images)
Just under two minutes later, Dan Burn fed Gordon down the right side and the winger played a few touches forward, set up Walker and then curled a low right-footed shot past Stefan Ortega into the far corner.
It was quite a turnaround and completely changed the dynamic of the first half.
Chris Waugh
Why does City keep conceding from the first shot on goal?
City may not have any technical weaknesses, but a mysterious psychological error continues to set them back – conceding their first shot on goal.
Against Newcastle, it was the 11th time in all competitions that Guardiola's team had been hit by their opponents' first attack this season, and it was the third time they had conceded both of their first two goals. It's a trend made even more damaging in a noisy St James' Park.
They conceded both shots on goal in the 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace, three of four goals against Tottenham Hotspur, while they lost 2-1 to Wolverhampton Wanderers at the Molineux, although their opponents found the target once as Ruben Dias scored an own goal .
(Simon Stacpoole/Offside/Offside via Getty Images)
For a team that maintains so much control, they are disproportionately vulnerable on the counterattack.
Ortega, who came on after Ederson collided with Longstaff and Walker in the opening minutes, could do little to change the goals, but that's what makes things so frustrating for Guardiola.
Tom Harris
When will Howe have his players back?
Newcastle fans may scoff, but City fans agreed their bench wasn't very strong at St James' Park. But compared to Newcastle, Guardiola had a wealth of wealth to draw on.
Jack Grealish is a £100 million player and De Bruyne is one of the best in the world. Kalvin Phillips hasn't played a league game all season, but Newcastle are keen to sign him on loan this month.
Eddie Howe, on the other hand, considered subbing Jamaal Lascelles, the centre-back, for Bruno Guimaraes when the Brazilian felt a pull in his hamstring. If this change had been necessary, Newcastle would have switched to a back five or used Schar as an emergency six.
Following Joelinton's injury, there are only three fit midfielders in Newcastle's squad and they started, including 17-year-old Lewis Miley. Instead, the substitutes included a single attacker, Ben Parkinson, 18, and two goalkeepers, as well as four experienced defenders, Alex Murphy, 19, and Matt Ritchie.
This injury crisis simply won't let up for Newcastle, who have been deprived of 12 senior players, and it's costing them dearly late in games. De Bruyne and Bobb have proven that.
Chris Waugh
Is Foden central to City's success?
Phil Foden is in the form of his life, central to everything positive City are doing at the moment, figuratively and literally.
His elusive positioning lured defenders forward and held midfielders back as they constantly worried about his darts penetrating gaps. After receiving the ball, he continued to open gaps for his teammates thanks to his ability to pivot and advance at the heart of Newcastle's determined system, creating four chances and taking five shots.
His electric confidence can be attributed to his positional change, as he was given the freedom to operate in more central areas in De Bruyne's absence. His 37 touches in the central third against Newcastle are the third most of his Premier League career, and the 42 he scored at home to Sheffield United last weekend ranks second.
But even after such an impressive performance, De Bruyne's sensational equalizer and magical assist justified Guardiola's decision to move Foden back to the wing. While Foden is lively, relentless and positive, De Bruyne brings a level of composure rarely seen in the Premier League, exemplified by his nerveless 'pass' into the bottom left corner of the goal for the equaliser.
An exciting win, but one that gets to the heart of Foden's frustrating position in this City squad. He will have to wait before he gets this central position.
What did they say?
Guardiola said: Everyone agrees that we did a really good performance today. We played at St James' Park against such a physical Newcastle team. They made transitions, we conceded two goals as their goalkeeper made two saves, like Liverpool. After that, talent made the difference.
“But what would the opinion have been today if we hadn’t won? It's a business I know, but as a manager what can I say about the performance? This is what I said to the players at half-time: You are great, you stick together and we will make it. The same was true against Spurs at home and against Crystal Palace against Liverpool. At this moment there is a major crisis because results are being judged, not achievements. The performances were brilliant. Today we were lucky to win, which wasn't the case in the past. When I said that, I felt like we still wanted to do it. We've won three times in a row, five in the last six, so why not?
“It's really important because Liverpool overtook them last month and we have to go to Anfield so it's better to be near them.”
Speaking to TNT Sport, Bobb said it was an “incredible feeling” to score the winning goal.
“I was just watching from the bench, it was a very fast-paced game,” he continued. “The manager told me, 'Go ahead and score a goal', so luckily I was able to do it. It's a lifelong dream and to make it with the best team in the world… I can't explain it.
“I thanked him for it (De Bruyne’s pass). He's the only one in the world who can do that. Being able to play with him is great. Not only is he one of the best players in the Premier League, but he is also a very nice guy who helps the young players a lot. It definitely strengthens the team.”
Bobb celebrates his winner (Alex Livesey/Getty Images)
Newcastle manager Howe said: “We saw that (before this season). “So much promise, so much good, but at the end of the day we sit here with nothing, which I think for the players who physically played so much in this game have given is very, very painful. The first half was exactly what we wanted to be. We wanted to be aggressive and at the forefront, and when you do that you take risks, but those risks were worth it. At the other end you can see that it paid off. In the second half we still wanted to play the same way, but we just couldn't execute it.
“What I would say about our situation is that we love the players we have. It's just unfortunate for us that not all of our attacking players are available. Whenever you get that, you are in a difficult situation. If the injuries were more spread out it wouldn't be so crucial for us, but I'm in a difficult situation where I'm thinking: “Should I sub a defender?”, which is used as a negative replacement, so to speak, and you.” I had to take out an attacking player and I didn't really want to do that.
“If we draw and you see the last three minutes, it probably won’t be talked about as much. Unfortunately it cost us.”
What's next for Newcastle?
Saturday, January 27th: Fulham (A), FA Cup fourth round, 7pm GMT, 2pm ET
A place in the round of 16 looks promising for Newcastle as they have won four times in a row against Fulham, including 3-0 at St James' Park last month, and are unbeaten in seven meetings against them since March 2017.
Tuesday, January 30th: Aston Villa (A), Premier League, 8:15 p.m. GMT, 3:15 p.m. ET
The 5-1 defeat to Villa in the second leg in August feels like it happened a thousand years ago, with Newcastle now well behind Unai Emery's men in the table and having lost their last five away games in the Premier League and at their trips to the top division have won once every season. In contrast, Villa have only lost two points in their ten home league games so far.
What's next for Manchester City?
Friday, January 26th: Tottenham Hotspur (A), FA Cup fourth round, 8:00 p.m. GMT, 3:00 p.m. ET
A replay of the 1981 FA Cup Final, replayed and featuring one of the greatest goals of the occasion… from City's Steve MacKenzie. Spurs' Ricky Villa also apparently scored a good goal and helped his team win the cup. These teams drew 3-3 in the Premier League at the Etihad Stadium last month and City have won just once and lost three times in their last five meetings.
Wednesday, January 31st: Burnley (H), Premier League, 7:30pm GMT, 2:30pm ET
Another repeat of an opening weekend game, with City looking to repeat August's 3-0 defeat to their former captain Vincent Kompany's side at Turf Moor. This result meant they have won their last eight meetings with Burnley in all competitions by an aggregate score of 28-0.
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(Top photo: Stu Forster/Getty Images)