MATCH REPORT AND PLAYER RATINGS - NEWCASTLE UNITED 2-3 MANCHESTER CITY

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Manchester City came from behind to beat Newcastle United thanks to an injury time winner from Oscar Bobb, who, along with Kevin de Bruyne, made a positive impact off the bench to help the Blues come from behind to win.

The Norwegian scored his first Premier League goal to put City ahead in what was a manic game from start to finish, with both sides looking excellent going forwards but slightly suspect at the back.

City were hit with an early blow when Ederson had to be replaced through injury inside the first ten minutes, after he was clattered by Kyle Walker when the Englishman was sliding in to try and stop a Newcastle attack which ended up in the back of the net via Sean Longstaff. The Brazilian goalkeeper appeared to get a nasty cut to his knee, and had to be replaced by backup goalkeeper Stefan Ortega-Moreno.

The controversial element was that Aleksander Isak was clearly offside in the build up, adding fuel to the debate that the guidelines the assistant referees have been given to delay giving the offside flag until the move has met its natural end is endangering the players. This is the second injury City have sustained in three games off the back of this, with John Stones also suffering an ankle injury a few weeks ago against Everton after the opposition player was offside.

Nevertheless, Pep Guardiola's side picked things up, and were thriving in the fluid system that they've used ever since their 1-0 defeat to Aston Villa in December (the last time we saw Erling Haaland in action.) This saw Kyle Walker and Josko Gvardiol starting high and wide, with Jeremy Doku, Julian Alvarez, Phil Foden and Bernardo Silva interchanging positions in narrow areas.

Walker in particular was getting himself in plenty of space going forwards on the right hand side, and this was the way in which City broke the deadlock. Our newly announced club captain ran onto a through ball from Doku and saw his wicked low cross flicked home superbly by Bernardo Silva attacking the near post.

City had dominated the game up until this point, and nearly doubled their lead as Bernardo's fierce effort was tipped onto the post, but Newcastle, who have been struggling for form lately under Eddie Howe, were woken up by conceding, and were looking dangerous with their balls over the top of City's defence.

An excellent ball from Bruno Guimaraes saw Aleksander Isak charging forwards down the left hand side. He cut inside and unleashed a fierce strike into the top corner, which left Ortega-Moreno stranded. It's arguable that Walker could've prevented the goal, as he was sloppy in pushing up before the long ball was played and was a few yards deeper than the other defenders, subsequently playing the Swede onside.

The Magpies took the lead just two minutes later, with Walker to blame yet again. He was very ponderous in coming across to close down Anthony Gordon, who was allowed to cut inside and curl the ball into the bottom right corner for his seventh league goal of the season.

Newcastle continued to look a threat every time they went forwards, and had it not been for an excellent save from Ortega-Moreno at the feet of Isak, it could've been another goal conceded on the counter attack.

The second half was an entirely different game however, with City looking much more threatening going forwards. Foden failed to capitalise on a cut back that fell to him in the six yard box after excellent work from Walker, although credit needs to be given to Guimaraes for getting back in and preventing Foden from shooting.

Guardiola turned towards the bench and was able to bring vice captain De Bruyne on to help influence the game. Just seconds after the Belgian arrived on the pitch, he was involved in a move that saw Alvarez squander a huge chance in the penalty area as he blazed it over with his left foot.

But City were level just a few minutes later and it was thanks to De Bruyne, with his first goal of the season in typical De Bruyne circumstances. Receiving Rodri's pass between the lines, he drove towards goal before sliding the ball between Fabian Schar's legs and into the bottom left hand corner from the edge of the box, in a way that made it look like he barely broke a sweat in doing so.

They weren't finished yet. City continued to probe, with Rodri forcing a fine save out of Martin Dubravka after a few step overs, with De Bruyne once again involved in the build up. And, given his remarkable performance up until this point, it was always going to be the 32 year old who had the decisive say on the match, and that proved to be the case.

De Bruyne played a superb angled pass over the top for Bobb to run onto, which he controlled excellently under pressure from Kieran Trippier. He quickly shifted it past the goalkeeper and onto his right foot before tapping the ball into the empty net to give City the lead in injury time.

This felt like three very important points for City. After a run of one win in six games they have now won six games on the bounce, and the vibe around the club seems to be so much more positive than it did before Christmas.

Despite nearly five months out, De Bruyne looks as sharp as ever, and is being nurtured back into the team wisely by Guardiola. With a few more minutes against Tottenham in the FA Cup, a start could well be on the cards for City's next Premier League game, which sees them take on Vincent Kompany's Burnley at the Etihad Stadium.

Before then, however, City will travel to Abu Dhabi for a few days of warm weather training, which will hopefully be the ideal opportunity for Erling Haaland and John Stones to regain their fitness and momentum before City's Champions League knockout campaign begins.

Here are the player ratings for the dramatic late win at St James' Park:

Ederson - not enough time to make an impact. Hopefully his injury is just a cut to the knee, and he'll be healed for Burnley in two and a half weeks time.

Walker - 7.5/10 - Good in the first half, even better in the second half, Walker contributed hugely to City's victory. He bombed forwards dangerously, and his cross for Bernardo's goal couldn't have been better placed. But, he was definitely at fault for at least one of the goals, which, as per usual, is seeing him get hounded by City "supporters" on X. After great performances like that, it is sad to see Walker, who is going through a lot personally at the moment, receive unwarranted criticism for honest mistakes. He needs to fix up on said mistakes, but credit must be given for what overall was an excellent performance from our captain.

Dias - 7/10 - Was outpaced by Isak a few times, but dealt with all the crosses into the box very well. Passed out from the back well, and can't be held accountable for either Newcastle goal.

Ake - 6.5/10 - Got along with his business quietly and efficiently. Dealt with a few loose balls and covered the left hand side very well, as well as making a few positive passes forward into players in the half spaces.

Gvardiol - 6.5/10 - Offered a decent attacking threat down the left hand side, and played a few nice passes to Doku and Foden in between the lines. Dealt pretty well with Miguel Almiron too - the quietest of Newcastle's forwards.

Rodri - 8.5/10 - Dictated the game from sitting midfield, as he was the first to every loose ball and looked good gliding forwards with the ball. When partnered with Kovacic, we see Rodri express himself more as a forward thinking midfielder, which goes along way in heling fill the void vacated by Ilkay Gundogan as a goal producing midfielder

Kovacic - 7/10 - Tidy with the ball, and helped keep things flowing in the centre of midfield. Works so well with Rodri in the centre of the park, something that Guardiola is recognising and is now subsequently rewarding the 29 year old with a run of games.

Bernardo - 7.5/10 - Sprinkled a bit of Bernardo magic on top of a workhorse performance. The Portuguese international ran his socks off all game, and looked threatening interchanging with Foden on the right hand side. His flicked effort for the goal epitomises his sheer class and brilliance when it comes to finding a moment to influence a game.

Foden - 8.5/10 - Took the ball on the half turn on numerous occasions to strike fear into the hearts of the Newcastle defence. He looked electric all evening, with his performance missing just a goal or an assist to cap it off.

Doku - 6.5/10 - Played his role in the first goal, and collected the ball in pockets a few times to lead City forward on the attack. Still has some polishing up to do on his technical game, however, before being tried centrally again in a big game.

Alvarez - 6.5/10 - Put a shift in up front, and came close to dispossessing Dubravka a few times. Should've scored at least once, as he had a series of half chances and one very good opportunity that he should've tucked away when City were 2-1 down.

Substitutes:

Ortega-Moreno - 7/10 - Made a few crucial interventions to keep City in the game at 2-1 and 2-2. Largely solid with his distribution too, other than a few passes that went astray. City are in safe hands whenever they need him to deputise for Ederson, and he is likely to start the next game given it is an FA Cup match and regarding the concerns over Ederson's fitness.

De Bruyne - 8.5/10 - It'd seem harsh to me to rank De Bruyne higher than Foden and Rodri considering he only played half an hour, but I was seriously, seriously tempted to. He took the game by the scruff of the neck upon his arrival to the pitch, and showed the way in which he can make a difference with a precise finish and a highly difficult assist to win the game for City. When he's built up a bit of momentum, it'd appear there's no stopping him from leading City towards a fourth consecutive Premier League title.

Bobb - 7.5/10 - Looked fairly sharp on the left hand side, drawing players towards him and winning fouls in a way reminiscent of Jack Grealish. Took his goal with such composure and technique that one would suspect he was playing in just another youth game, not in injury time at St James' Park. Has to be considered now alongside Foden, Bernardo, Doku and Grealish as a player competing for a starting spot on the wings.