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Pep Guardiola described Manchester City’s hard-fought victory over Newcastle United as “massive” after his side survived a late onslaught to keep the Premier League title race finely poised.
Two goals from Nico O’Reilly secured a 2-1 win at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday, trimming Arsenal’s lead at the summit to just two points and reinforcing the sense that the champions are stirring at precisely the right moment.
“It was massive,” Guardiola said. “Newcastle are an incredible team. That game today is what we are going to face in the next 11. Every game will be like that, a battle.”
Buoyed by Arsenal’s unexpected midweek draw with Wolves, City began with urgency and incision. O’Reilly rewarded that early thrust, twice finding the net either side of a Lewis Hall effort that deflected past Gianluigi Donnarumma to briefly restore parity.
For long spells of the first half, City were fluid and assertive. Rodri dictated tempo, Bernardo Silva drifted between lines and Phil Foden probed at Newcastle’s back line. Yet the visitors, returning from a draining Uefa Champions League assignment in Azerbaijan, grew into the contest after the interval.
By the closing stages, the mood had shifted from buoyant to brittle. Newcastle pressed, crosses flashed across the six-yard box and City retreated deeper than Guardiola would have preferred. But they held firm, drawing strength from a crowd the manager later praised as “the best of the season”.
“The vibe and the connection with our fans today was the best of the season,” Guardiola said. “We have five home games left in the Premier League and we need that vibe.”
If the performance underlined City’s quality, it also revealed the fine margins that will define the run-in. Guardiola was quick to temper talk of momentum, insisting his players focus solely on next Saturday’s trip to Leeds.
“Now we have three days off. I say to them, ‘What you have to do is take a lot of caipirinhas and daiquiris in these next three days, enjoy life’, and then we make proper sessions and go to Leeds,” he said.
“That is the proper way. If we say, ‘We win this, then Arsenal do this or Aston Villa’… you get a slap in the face and what you thought would happen, the opposite happens. Just win the next game, keep going, never give up. Ten games is a lot in the Premier League. Many things are going to happen.”
Eddie Howe, the Newcastle manager, could take encouragement despite a 12th successive defeat at the Etihad. His side’s energy, particularly given their recent schedule, impressed.
“It was a good effort from the lads physically,” Howe said. “It has been a really tough run of fixtures for us. Every time we enter the pitch I want the players to empty, to give everything. I can’t ask for any more.”
Howe conceded that individual errors proved costly for both of City’s goals but felt the broader performance merited more. “Considering everything we have put into the last few weeks, that was a good performance,” he added.
Guardiola, meanwhile, offered a candid reflection on Rodri’s season. The Spaniard, who sustained knee ligament damage in September 2024 and later struggled with a hamstring issue, has endured a stop-start campaign.
“He came back too early,” Guardiola admitted. “Our desire to get him back, him especially, he came back early, that’s why it was longer. It’s a good lesson. Human beings have a time for recovery.”
Rodri’s contract expires next summer and Guardiola made no secret of his desire to retain him. “I would love that desperately. Rodri is Rodri. The older he is, the wiser, more understanding of the game. There are players defined on the big stages, in the difficulties, and Rodri’s one of them.”
