Pep Guardiola's deliberate Newcastle United ploy as Sandro Tonali puts in worst performance of 24-25 - opinion

Newcastle United’s Etihad Stadium hoodoo continued. Will it ever end!?

For the first time in a long time, Newcastle visited Manchester City feeling optimistic with Pep Guardiola’s side far from their best this campaign.

Not that you could tell that mind, with Man City hitting the Magpies for four. Omar Marmoush scored a hat-trick in just 14 first-half minutes before substitute James McAtee added a fourth late on.

Still, United await their first Premier League win at the Etihad. Here’s five talking points from the game:

Newcastle’s game plan undone

In a throwback to the recent win over Arsenal, Howe named a defensive five (out of possession), with Kieran Trippier tucking in as the third centre-back alongside Fabian Schar and Dan Burn, while Jacob Murphy and Lewis Hall were deployed as the wing-backs.

Newcastle central defenders pressed high onto Man City’s attackers but that invited long balls from goalkeeper Ederson, which proved to be the visitors’ undoing.

In the 19th minute, Trippier followed the run of Marmoush but lost track of the aerial ball, allowing the Egyptian to race in behind and finish past Martin Dubravka.

Pep Guardiola suggested after the game that the long passes were a deliberate ploy to counter Eddie Howe’s tactic.

"There are always men free when the keeper has the ball and Newcastle defend really well how aggressive they are in the high pressing, and afterwards how tight and compact is deep, and we saw with the pace that maybe in the past we didn't have up front,” Guardiola said.

"But with Phil [Foden], Omar and Erling [Haaland], you know, when you can win that duel in the space and the ball comes in the position, it's one against one with 30-40 metres and Ederson is the best in the world in these kind of situations.”

After taking the lead, Man City grew in confidence. Long balls became less frequent, with the hosts preferring to pass Newcastle to death. Howe’s side simply had no answer,

It’s time to talk about Fabian Schar...

Perhaps this is an unfair time to address Fabian Schar’s form. After all, he wasn’t the only bad performer at the Etihad.

But there’s no doubting his form has dipped this season. Once Newcastle’s Mr Consistent, now - vaguely speaking - he’s a one-in-five man. His distribution isn’t anywhere near its best, while defensively he’s being caught out.

The 33-year-old is out of contract in the summer and, in my opinion, still absolutely deserves a new contract. He has plenty of credit in the bank and much to offer, but improvement is needed.

Sandro Tonali’s worst performance of the season?

Sandro Tonali has set his bar so high that when he drops below it, it’s noticeable. The Italian is usually capable of putting out fires and imposing himself both physically and technically, but against City, he was part of a ghostly midfield.

Man City had lost 12 of their previous 24 games and were without some big performers in Manuel Akanji, Ruben Dias, Nathan Ake and Jack Grealish. This was a real opportunity for Newcastle and quality players such as Tonali to stamp their authority.

That, unfortunately, didn’t happen.

Lewis Miley - Newcastle’s bright spark

The first-half performance was so abject that Howe could have made eight or nine changes at half-time but the head coach settled on two, with Trippier and Joe Willock making way for Tino Livramento and Lewis Miley.

And it was the latter that deservedly earned praise from Howe. It wasn’t a spectacular performance by any means, but the 18-year-old showed a level of maturity and composure his peers largely lacked at Eastlands.

“Yes, I think the big positive today is Lewis' performance in that second half,” said Howe.

“He showed not just bravery out of possession in terms of winning duels and covering the pitch, but in terms of taking the ball and showing composure and making the right decisions, which we didn't make enough of. So, he can be very proud of his performance, but some of us need to look at him and he led the way.”

Let’s scrap this cup final narrative!

I heard suggestions after the game that Newcastle’s defeat could be because minds are on the Carabao Cup final... nonsense, or at least it should be!

The fanbase can be forgiven for letting their minds sway, but not staff and players. There is a lot of football to be played before March 16 and there are some important games to come, starting with Nottingham Forest next Sunday.

To be fair, Howe gave the perfect response in his post-match press conference.

“If that is the case, we're in trouble, because our Premier League season will be over really by the time that final comes around, it can't be the focus,” said Howe.

“It's on the horizon, it should be a positive, it shouldn't be a negative distraction for us. I'd encourage the players to look at it that way, it's an excitement, but we have to go back to work, and work is the Premier League the day in, day out.

“We have to perform better, that's three of our last performances in the Premier League that haven't been good enough, and they've all had similar traits in them. So, yeah, back to basics for us, I think, for next week.”