Haaland and Silva rescue draw for Manchester City in Newcastle thriller

For long periods of a thrilling, and sometimes tumultuous, 90 minutes on Tyneside, Manchester City seemed to be gasping for oxygen.

The visitors’ periods of distress and sheer puzzlement had nothing to do with any lack of fitness and everything to do with the sheer skill and determination of Allan Saint-Maximin and the rest of a Newcastle team who had evidently bought into Eddie Howe’s mantra that mountains are there for climbing.

Last season Newcastle conceded nine goals to no reply in two games against Pep Guardiola’s side, while Howe’s managerial record against City at both his current club and Bournemouth consisted of 12 straight defeats.

Although a Newcastle side who, at one stage, led 3-1 did not win that losing sequence ended at the 13th attempt as Howe and his players passed what he had described as “the ultimate test” of their recent progress on an afternoon which served as a reminder that, particularly, defensively Guardiola’s team are mortal after all.

At 4.30pm both teams were still to concede a league goal this season but by 4.35pm, Newcastle’s goalkeeper, Nick Pope had picked the ball out of the back of his net. Bernardo Silva was allowed to direct an in swinging right wing cross in Ilkay Gündogan’s direction and, after drifting into the space between Kieran Trippier and Fabian Schär, Gündogan had sufficient time to control the ball before lashing it beyond Pope.

With Pope saving smartly from Kevin De Bruyne in the wake of Joe Willock’s forfeiture of midfield possession and Howe’s brightest midfielder, Bruno Guimarães required to watch his step after collecting a booking for clattering into De Bruyne, Newcastle were suddenly, albeit briefly, up against it.

Creditably, such adversity seemed to bring the best