Our 3️⃣ points as classy Cancelo inspires Man City to beat Newcastle | OneFootball

Manchester City moved to within a point of the Champions League places after a comfortable 2-0 win over a lacklustre Newcastle United.

Ilkay Gündogan and Ferran Torres scored to ramp up the pressure on Magpies’ boss Steve Bruce.

Here is what we made of the clash as the Etihad …

Write City off at your peril

There has been a lot of title talk lately, but Manchester City haven’t popped up in the conversation as regularly as they used to.

That seems quite bizarre and a little fickle considering they’ve won two out of the last three championships but they have been below-par by their enormous standards so far this campaign.

However, they look like they are finally starting to cook with some gas.

For one of the first times this season City really stretched the play like they used to tonight, with the wide players playing with chalk on their boots and their sometimes tepid, pedestrian passing being replaced by more intricate and inquisitive moves.

Pep Guardiola’s men also have the best defensive record in the division after conceding just 12 goals in their 14 games.

They are now just five points off the league leaders Liverpool. Write them off at your peril.

Cancelo Culture

It’s taken a season and a half but Joaõ Cancelo is starting to look like a real Manchester City player … but maybe not the one we all thought he would be.

The 26-year-old struggled to hold down a consistent place in the team during his first campaign last season but has produced a number of impressive performances in the full-back positions so far in 2020/21.

His showing at the Etihad this evening was probably his best yet in a City shirt.

The Portuguese international certainly started in the right-back position but as we know with Pep Guardiola, he likes to remix his full-backs and that was certainly on full display.

Cancelo was City’s most effective creative outlet this evening, creating a match-high three chances and regularly showing up in a ‘number ten’ position as opposed to out wide.

His through ball to Raheem Sterling was pivotal to setting up the first goal but that wasn’t the only example of the former Juventus man playing killer passes.

City look as if they have a real player on their hands.

Newcastle – what’s the point?

You are just left wondering –  what is the point in Newcastle United?

It’s been a turbulent week up at Tyneside following the abject display in the Carabao Cup defeat to Brentford on Tuesday, followed by this ghostly showing in Manchester.

They’ve not won at Manchester City for 20 years and it looked as if they never had any intention of trying to rectify that tonight.

Newcastle didn’t want to engage with the ball on any occasion, 76% possession for the hosts is testament to that.

This had all the echoes of a team turning up just to get out without being hit for six and when you consider the difference in quality between the two sides, there is justification for that stance.

However, for a Premier League team to show up and to not try inflict any attacking damage on the opposition should raise some eyebrows.

Steve Bruce has some very talented and technically gifted players at his disposal. Playing as passive as this every week won’t wash for much longer.