Newcastle United 2 Man City 3: Kevin de Bruyne stars at St James' Park

Having already scored within five minutes of his introduction from the bench, Kevin de Bruyne turned supplier in the first minute of stoppage time, supplying the pass that enabled his fellow substitute, Oscar Bobb, to slot home.

The goal was extremely cruel on a Newcastle side who had responded superbly to falling behind to an impudent backheel from Bernardo Silva.

Alexander Isak and Anthony Gordon both scored within a three-minute spell towards the end of the first half, and Martin Dubravka made a series of fine saves to keep Manchester City out in the second half.

De Bruyne’s introduction turned things though, with Newcastle’s eventual defeat meaning Eddie Howe has suffered back-to-back home losses for the first time in his Magpies tenure.

Howe and his players will now embark on a ten-day break before their next game at Aston Villa, and the head coach will be hoping to have some of his injured players back by the time he heads to Villa Park. If any of them can make the kind of instant impact de Bruyne has enjoyed since returning from a hamstring problem, it would be greatly appreciated.

Tonight’s game was something of a Premier League classic, with Newcastle initially thinking they had made a dream start when they had the ball in the net inside the opening two minutes. However, Isak was offside as he broke down the right and crossed for Sean Longstaff to stab home.

The incident had significant repercussions though, with Longstaff colliding with Ederson. The Manchester City goalkeeper tried to continue – and almost conceded a goal when his mishit clearance cannoned off Miguel Almiron – but was eventually forced of in the seventh minute with Stefan Ortega coming on to replace him.

Manchester City’s defensive shakiness was a key feature of the game all evening, but the champions were a constant threat at the other end despite the absence of the injured Erling Haaland.

Silva hooked a half-volley over from close to the penalty spot after Jeremy Doku’s cross was deflected into his path, but the Portuguese made no mistake as he opened the scoring with a sensational finish midway through the first half.

Kyle Walker crossed from the right, and with the ball fractionally behind him, Silva produced a superb backheeled flick to beat Dubravka.

Dubravka had no chance, but the Slovakian made a crucial save three minutes later, clawing away another shot from Silva.

A second City goal at that stage would have made life extremely difficult for Newcastle, but instead, the hosts turned the game on its head with two goals in the space of three minutes in the closing stages of the first half.

First, Bruno Guimaraes floated a ball over the top to Isak, and after stepping inside Walker, the Swede fired home a clinical finish from just inside the 18-yard box.

Then, two minutes later, Dan Burn sent Gordon galloping away down the left-hand side. The winger cut inside from the flank, and with Walker standing off him, curled an excellent finish into the far corner.

Isak almost added a third goal before the interval, but after breaking onto Lewis Miley’s pass, the Swede fired in a low shot that was saved by Ortega.

The pace of the game was relentless, and it showed no signs of slowing in the second half, with City probing for an equaliser and Newcastle continuing to offer a considerable threat on the break.

Dubravka parried away Julian Alvarez’s free-kick, and made another important save moments later as he kept out Phil Foden’s shot after the England international had created a pocket of space via a one-two with Alvarez.

The pressure was mounting, but Dubravka came to Newcastle’s rescue again shortly after the hour mark as he kept out Alvarez’s shot after the Argentinian had been teed up by Doku.

It was not Alvarez’s night, with the forward shooting over from ten yards out after a cross was deflected somewhat fortuitously into his path and seeing another shot blocked before Foden side-footed the rebound over.

Pep Guardiola needed to spark something, and it was his 69th minute introduction of de Bruyne that swung the game back in City’s direction.

The Belgian had been on the field for five minutes when he found a pocket of space between Newcastle’s midfield and defence, and with the home side standing off, he drove towards the edge of the area before drilling home a low finish.

De Bruyne was City’s game-changer, and it was his pass that led to fellow substitute Bobb’s winner in the first minute of stoppage time.

De Bruyne floated a pass beyond the Newcastle defence, and after getting behind Kieran Trippier, Bobb stepped across Dubravka before slotting home.