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De Bruyne scores on return as Man City take three points at Newcastle

Manchester City's Belgian midfielder #17 Kevin De Bruyne celebrates after scoring their second goal
Manchester City's Belgian midfielder #17 Kevin De Bruyne celebrates after scoring their second goalAFP
Kevin De Bruyne marked his return to Premier League (PL) action with a masterful goal and assist to lead Manchester City to a 3-2 win against Newcastle United - the Cityzens’ first win in three visits to St James’ Park.

Alexander Isak was played behind the Cityzens’ defence in the second minute and teed up Sean Longstaff for the midfielder to slide the ball home.

While the goal was ruled out due to the Swede being offside, there were still consequences for Ederson, who was left injured after the collision with Longstaff, who then made a mistake that went unpunished following a wild attempt from Bruno Guimarães before being substituted.

Manchester City's Portuguese midfielder #20 Bernardo Silva celebrates after scoring the opening goal
Manchester City's Portuguese midfielder #20 Bernardo Silva celebrates after scoring the opening goalAFP

Pep Guardiola’s side soon entered their stride despite that setback and carved out opportunities, even if Bernardo Silva missed the target and Jérémy Doku’s attempt was blocked.

The opener eventually came in the 26th minute when Kyle Walker’s cross was met by an exquisite flick from Silva for the midfielder’s third goal in five matches.

Man City looked imperious and Silva hit a wonderful effort that Nick Pope tipped onto the woodwork, but they found themselves behind following two outstanding goals in three minutes.

Newcastle United's Swedish striker #14 Alexander Isak (2L) shoots to score their first goal
Newcastle United's Swedish striker #14 Alexander Isak (2L) shoots to score their first goalAFP

Isak latched onto a superb pass from Bruno Guimarães, cut inside Walker, and left Stefan Ortega helpless for the fifth goal in his last five matches. 

Anthony Gordon then followed suit by working space from Walker and curling his own brilliant effort into the bottom corner.

Newcastle United's English midfielder #10 Anthony Gordon celebrates after scoring their second goal
Newcastle United's English midfielder #10 Anthony Gordon celebrates after scoring their second goalAFP

Determined to find an equaliser, Man City pushed forward but Julián Álvarez’s free-kick and Phil Foden’s effort were denied by Martin Dúbravka.

Walker then embarked on a blistering burst forward and found Foden in the six-yard box but Bruno Guimarães made a timely tackle and bravely cleared before being taken out by Rodri

Manchester City's Belgian midfielder #17 Kevin De Bruyne (C) celebrates after scoring their second goal
Manchester City's Belgian midfielder #17 Kevin De Bruyne (C) celebrates after scoring their second goalAFP

In the 69th minute, De Bruyne was introduced for his first PL minutes since the opening day and swiftly ended his side’s frustrations, sliding a well-placed shot through Fabian Schär’s legs and into the bottom corner.

Manchester City's Norwegian midfielder #52 Oscar Bobb (L) celebrates after scoring their third goal
Manchester City's Norwegian midfielder #52 Oscar Bobb (L) celebrates after scoring their third goalAFP

De Bruyne’s conviction never wavered despite the clock ticking down and the Belgian found fellow substitute Oscar Bobb, who provided equally impressive quick feet to score his first PL goal and earn Man City’s sixth consecutive win in all competitions.

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Newcastle, meanwhile, have lost each of their last four league matches despite their valiant display.

Flashscore Man of the Match: Rodri (Manchester City)

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