Kevin De Bruyne was instrumental in Manchester City’s 3-2 victory over Newcastle United on Saturday following an instant impact off the bench.
An injury to goalkeeper Ederson in the first few minutes of the game propelled City to rally and take the lead through Bernardo Silva, but towards the conclusion of the first half, goals from Anthony Gordon and Alexander Isak gave Newcastle a commanding advantage.
Pep Guardiola resorted to De Bruyne when City was having trouble finding an equalizer. The Belgian required just five touches on the ball to score, and in the last seconds of the match, his incredible pass allowed Oscar Bobb to tap in the game’s winning goal.
In just two minutes, Newcastle had the ball in the back of the net. Sean Longstaff scored after Alexander Isak squared for him, but the celebrations were abruptly cut short when the offside flag went up, and a VAR review verified the Swede had gone too soon. Ederson was left hurting on the ground by Kyle Walker’s attempts to block the shot, which would not have occurred if the flag had been raised right away.
The Brazilian goalkeeper appeared extremely uneasy as he attempted to continue and was quickly caught in possession, but Newcastle was unable to handle the ball to take advantage. After seeing Phil Foden and Rodri yell for Pep Guardiola to take Ederson from the field, the manager finally made the switch.
After all was said and done, both teams had a great time playing the ball and scoring goals whenever they could. Silva scored from close range after a desperate interception denied Isak a fantastic opportunity.
City needed to wait patiently for the first goal. The visitors created some space down the right in a move that involved a lot of passes. Walker fizzed in a cross towards Silva, whose exquisite flick went into the bottom corner.
Soon after, City gained total control of the game, forcing Martin Dubravka to tip a strike from Silva onto the post. Against the run of play, however, Isak managed to steal an equalizer.
This time, Isak perfectly timed his run to slip past Walker, cut inside the full-back, and then bent a magnificent effort into Stefan Ortega’s top corner.
Newcastle was ahead before the supporters could gather themselves. Anthony Gordon gave the Magpies the lead at halftime this time by harassing Walker and hitting the ball into the same side of the City net.
After the break, the game’s tempo dropped as Newcastle concentrated more on containing City’s threat. Bruno Guimaraes had to help clear a goalmouth scramble on the hour mark before Julian Alvarez’s effort was blasted right at Dubravka. After some penalty box pinball, the Argentine also blasted over the bar.
Midway through the half, De Bruyne was summoned off the bench in an attempt to improve the situation, and the Belgian succeeded. De Bruyne’s strike from the edge of the box, with 16 on the lock, was calm and accurate as it glided neatly into the bottom corner.
As it appeared like a draw could be in order, De Bruyne stepped up once more. His wonderful ball to Bobb in the 91st minute saw him round Dubravka and tap in to complete a thrilling victory.
