Manchester City put last weekend's defeat to Liverpool to rest with a 3-1 victory over Newcastle United this evening as Sergio Aguero scored a hat-trick at the Etihad Stadium.
After losing their unbeaten Premier League record to the attack-minded Reds, City had a different task on their hands as Newcastle sat in and tried to frustrate the hosts.
Their resolve was broken on 34 minutes when Aguero got the feintest of touches to a Kevin De Bruyne cross, and the Argentine doubled City's lead with a 63rd-minute penalty.
Jacob Murphy soon pulled one back for with a deft finish over Ederson for his first Newcastle goal, but Aguero completed his treble and made the points safe for City with an 83rd-minute strike after dazzling work from Leroy Sane.
Relive how the action unfolded at Eastlands courtesy of our minute-by-minute updates below.
Good evening everyone! Manchester City's 22-match unbeaten start to the season was finally ended last weekend at the hands of Liverpool, so how will Pep Guardiola's side respond? Will that result unsettle the runaway leaders, or will it be back to winning ways against Newcastle? Stay with Sports Mole to find out!
MAN CITY: Ederson; Walker, Stones, Otamendi, Zinchenko; Fernandinho, Silva, De Bruyne; Sterling, Sane, Aguero
Subs: Bravo, Danilo, Gundogan, Mangala, Bernardo, Adarabioyo, Diaz
Subs: Bravo, Danilo, Gundogan, Mangala, Bernardo, Adarabioyo, Diaz
NEWCASTLE: Darlow; Manquillo, Lascelles, Clark, Dummett; Murphy, Shelvey, Hayden, Diame, Atsu, Joselu
Subs: Elliot, Yedlin, Haidara, Merino, Ritchie, Perez, Gayle
Subs: Elliot, Yedlin, Haidara, Merino, Ritchie, Perez, Gayle
The headline piece of team news sees Oleksandr Zinchenko make his full Premier League debut for Manchester City as a makeshift left-back. The 21-year-old Ukrainian is an attacking midfielder by trade, but Pep Guardiola has put his faith in the left-footer with Fabian Delph and Benjamin Mendy injured.
The only other change for City from their first league defeat of the season is the return of David Silva in midfield in place of Ilkay Gundogan, who was on the scoresheet on Merseyside. The Spaniard has been in and out of the team of late because of family problems, so could to see him in the lineup today.
With Gabriel Jesus still on the sidelines, Sergio Aguero starts up front hoping for a repeat of the five-goal haul which he managed on Newcastle's last visit to the Etihad. Captain Vincent Kompany is also unavailable and Danilo has to settle for a place on the bench with Zinchenko given the nod.
The City bench is again home to a couple of youngsters - Brahim Diaz and Tosin Adarabioyo - which goes to show despite the millions and millions of pounds spent that there is not huge depth to this squad. They could have done with that Alexis Sanchez bloke who is off to Manchester United.
Rafael Benitez makes four changes to the Newcastle side which were held to a disapponting 1-1 home draw by Swansea City last Saturday. Goalscorer Joselu returns to the starting XI at the expense of Dwight Gayle, who has shaken off a knock to be named among the substitutes, at least.
Matt Ritchie, who has made more Premier League starts this season than any other Newcastle player - 21 out of 23 matches - is dropped to the bench to accommodate the extra pace of Jacob Murphy. That is likely a sign that the Magpies will sit back and try to hit City on the counter-attack.
That thought process is supported by the inclusion of holding midfielder Isaac Hayden, who is preferred to second striker Ayoze Perez. There is also a change at right-back, with Javi Manquillo recalled in place of DeAndre Yedlin, who has been a starter for the last eight league games.
Perez joins Gayle and Ritchie on a forward-thinking bench that Benitez could turn to for impact if Newcastle can contain City and keep themselves in the game heading into the final 20 minutes. That has proved to be a difficult task although United were only 1-0 losers at St James' Park in December.
Benitez copped some criticism for the defensive way that he lined up his side in the reverse fixture, but does not seem to have paid much attention because he appears to have set Newcastle up in the same way. If anything, we can expect United to be more cautious away from home.
As unlikely as it may be, the Magpies are searching for a third successive league win on the road, having won just one of the previous 20. They last won three top-flight away games in a row in December 2001, under the very fondly remembered Sir Bobby Robson.
It was Robson's successor Graeme Souness who was in charge the last time that Newcastle went unbeaten in four games from the start of a calendar year. That is another marker that Benitez's boys could achieve this evening if they can keep City at bay.
Newcastle could take some hope from Benitez's record at the Etihad Stadium. His sides sides have kept four clean sheets here in the Premier League - only Sir Alex Ferguson with five has managed more.
The visitors may also be encouraged by their upturn in form since their last meeting with City. Newcastle have taken eight points from their last six league games compared to a single point from the previous nine.
Benitez will love to test himself against the Premier League's best managers, but Newcastle have claimed only one point out of a possible 30 in matches against teams in the top half of the table this season.
Unbeaten no longer, but City have equalled the best record by a club after 23 matches of an English top-flight season (W20, D2, L1). It matches the Tottenham Hotspur double-winning team of in 1960-61, and Chelsea in 2005-06, which was Jose Mourinho's second campaign in charge.
They may not have reached 23 matches without defeat this season, but that is the number of league games that City have gone without losing at home. The Citizens have won 18 and drawn five at home since a 3-1 defeat by Chelsea in December 2016.
In fact, the Blues have lost just nine of their 87 Premier League home games since the start of the 2013-14 season. Only three of those losses have been to clubs outside the current top six, and one of those was against eventual champions Leicester in the 2015-16 campaign.
STAT: We have already touched on how much Aguero enjoys playing against Newcastle, and this remarkable statistic puts that into context. The Argentine averages a goal or assist every 31 minutes against Newcastle at the Etihad Stadium.
RESULTS: There have already been seven matches in the Premier League today. Here are the results, with big wins for Arsenal and Chelsea and a winning start for Paul Lambert at Stoke City.
Arsenal 4-0 Crystal Palace
Brighton 0-4 Chelsea
Burnley 0-1 Manchester United
Everton 1- West Brom
Leicester 2-0 Watford
Stoke 2-0 Huddersfield
West Ham 1-1 Bournemouth
While City's cushion remains a healthy nine points, United and Chelsea winning today is a reminder that the gap can soon be cut. Victory for Guardiola's side today would answer questions about if they can respond to defeat, but a second winless game may start talk of small cracks showing.
Meanwhile for Newcastle, the win for Stoke has dragged them to within two points of the relegation zone. It is very tight at the bottom with six points separating West Brom in 19th and Watford in 10th.
Man City are unbeaten in 20 #PL matches against Newcastle - the longest unbeaten run against a side in their league history#MCINEW pic.twitter.com/3yqq3x9gWl — Premier League (@premierleague) January 20, 2018
HEAD TO HEAD: Newcastle's only win over City in their last 22 encounters was a 2-0 win at the Etihad in the EFL Cup in 2015. David Silva and Fernandinho are the only survivors from the City team that day, and Paul Dummett the sole Magpie to play both then and today.
Not only have Newcastle suffered against City in the last decade, they have suffered badly especially away from home. The Blues have scored at least four goals in each of their last four top-flight home matches against United.
How Benitez would love to have the luxury of choosing not to pursue Alexis Sanchez. The Newcastle manager doesn't even know what his January budget is yet, and it isn't likely to be very much after Mike Ashley revealed that there will be no sale to businesswoman Amanda Staveley.
It is tough times to be a Newcastle fan, and it could get even tougher this afternoon...
Jonjo Shelvey could reportedly be sold to fund some Newcastle signings. The midfielder is seen as one of the club's best players, but he is without a goal or assist in 17 league games this season.
PREDICTION: I would like to have seen City's first defeat followed by a tougher test than this because I think they will roll over Newcastle tonight. Liverpool showed the way to play against Guardiola's side last weekend but the Magpies just don't have the tools to do the same job.
I fancy the Citizens to run away with a 4-0 win, with Aguero marking his 200th league appearance for City with a couple of goals which will make him very popular with Fantasy Football managers.
KICKOFF: A minute's applause to commemorate the life of former West Brom and Coventry footballer Cyril Regis, who passed away this week, precedes kickoff as Newcastle get us underway.
City fall asleep from a free kick and Shelvey takes it quick to release Atsu to the left byline. He stands up a cross towards Joselu at the back post, but league debutant and makeshift left-back Zinchenko makes a vital intervention at the back post. Isaac Hayden scuffs the follow-up volley.
There was a period of 30 seconds or so then that Newcastle had all 11 players behind the ball. They are going to make themselves as difficult as possible tp break down, but we know City have the players at their disposal to do that.
Two of those players combine as De Bruyne slips Silva in down the right channel. The City captain for the day cuts the ball back for Stones, who steers the ball wide of the near post first time.
Silva skips away from a couple of Newcastle midfielders and tries to turn the ball inside to De Bruyne, but Hayden sticks out a leg to intercept. The former Arsenal youngster is dropping very deep, almost as a third centre-half, when the Citizens have the ball.
City's greatest ever player, according to Noel Gallagher, has started typically brightly. Silva spins away from his man and finds Sane on the overlap but a cross into the middle is headed away by Lascelles, who has a huge task on his hands today both as a defender and organisational captain.
With Newcastle sitting deep, City might try a few shots from range, but I don't think Kyle Walker will be lining up another one soon. His 30-yard effort couldn't have been further away from goal.
City have already had five corners in the opening 14 minutes, all of which have been defended well by Newcastle. Otamendi can be a threat from the dead ball but has met his match so far in Lascelles.
Really good defending from Manquillo, who somehow pokes the ball away from Sane inside the box after the German had made a classic out-to-in run and beautifully controlled Zinchenko's lofted pass.
DISALLOWED! Sterling converts Silva's cross at the back post but the offside flag goes up. Newcastle venture forward for the first time in 15 minutes and a poor pass from Joselu leaves them vulnerable to a slick City break which was inches away from delivering the opening goal.
City are overloading on the left but Hayden is doing very well to support Manquillo. This time he gets across to block Silva's cross behind for a sixth City corner which comes to nothing.
First job done for Newcastle, whose manager Benitez would surely have highlighted the 20-minute mark as an important checkpoint to reach still on level terms. City have only had one clear opening - the Sterling disallowed goal - which is actually as many as Newcastle have managed.
Sterling and Sane try to change the pace of a probing City attack with a quick one-two, but again there are several black and white shirts in between the England international and Karl Darlow's goal, and he gets crowded out.
City have had a couple of opportunities to spring on an outnumbered Newcastle defence in the last few minutes, but strangely the final ball has not been there from De Bruyne.
Hayden and Clark make important clearances as Newcastle continue to defend impressively. The ball just keeps coming back at them though, with Joselu too isolated to hold it up.
Sane looks the most likely to make something happen for City, and he turns the ball around the corner for Silva to run onto. Manquillo has a little nibble at the Spaniard to concede a free kick on the left edge of the box, but again the quality from De Bruyne is well below standard as it flies over the bar.
SHOT! Over half an hour played and City have their first shot on target, as Sterling uses the overlapping run of De Bruyne as a decoy to cut inside and strike straight at Darlow with his left foot.
GOAL! MAN CITY 1-0 NEWCASTLE (SERGIO AGUERO)
The Newcastle wall is knocked down by Aguero, or is it De Bruyne? The Belgian whips in an outstanding cross from the left which Aguero claims to have got the slightest touch to on its way past Darlow and into the bottom corner. It was a flick of his hair if anything, but of course the striker claims it!
The stadium announcer has given it to Aguero but the dubious goals panel may take a closer look at that one. For all of City's probing passing in the opening 34 minutes, it was a more direct route which created the opening goal which may infuriate the Newcastle boss Benitez.
What is Newcastle's game-plan now? I would suggest get through to half time without any futher damage and then reassess. Eventually they will have to come at City but the later they can leave that the better.
SAVE! De Bruyne creates some space for a left-footed shot which takes a nick off Dummett on its way through to Darlow, who pushes the ball around his post for a corner.
Dummett throws his body in the way again, this time to block a shot from Aguero after the Argentine had skipped past a few defenders on the edge of the box, a la his famous goal vs. QPR.
Fernandinho takes his turn to line up a shot from range but it was never troubling Darlow.
Newcastle are enjoying their longest spell in the City half, although that isn't saying much and the passes from Joselu and Jacob Murphy weren't good enough when they needed to be to sustain the attacking 'threat'.
Murphy goes on a nice dribble into the City box but Stones comes across to snuff out the danger.
HALF TIME: MAN CITY 1-0 NEWCASTLE
That was as one-sided a half of football as you'll ever see, but Manchester City only have one goal to show for it with Sergio Aguero getting the feintest of headers on Kevin De Bruyne's cross to end 34 minutes of deadlock.
Aside from the Raheem Sterling disallowed goal, City have not created many more clear-cut chances with Newcastle extremely disciplined and organised for the most part. Newcastle had one opportunity of their own, way back on three minutes when Isaac Hayden scuffed his volley.
STATS: The first-half stats do make staggering reading, with City enjoying 82% possession and having 10 corners - Newcastle have yet to have one. The Magpies also completed less than 50 passes throughout the opening 45 minutes.
Despite those unbalanced stats, Benitez will probably be just as happy as Guardiola at the break. United have kept themselves in the game, and 20 tight minutes at the start of the second half will set them up to have a go at City late on.
Young Zinchenko has slotted into this City team seamlessly. He's a De Bruyne doppelganger from far away and has showed some of the Belgian's composure and vision on the ball so far. Of course, he has not been tested defensively anywhere near as much as he could have been.
KICKOFF: The second half resumes, at the third attempt after a couple of false starts in which Sane encroached the Newcastle half. Both sides are unchanged for now.
Things have already settled down into the same attack-versus-defence pattern of the opening 45 minutes. It would be too early for Newcastle to come out and have a go at City otherwise they could be three down before the hour mark.
Sterling has made a couple of good runs early in this half but there are so few holes in this Newcastle defence that providing him with service is not as easy as it usually is for De Bruyne and Silva.
There is a stoppage in play following a clash of heads between Joselu and Fernandinho, who has come off worse. The Brazilian, who signed a new contract at the Etihad this week, seems to have shaken it off and will be okay to continue.
Hayden is doing a very important job for Newcastle today but makes his first mistake as he is robbed on the edge of the box by Silva. The ball is played into the path of Sane, but Lascelles comes across to slide in and rescue his teammate.
Another checkpoint reached for Newcastle - 10 minutes into the second half without conceding. If anything, City are dominating possession even more since the restart but the deficit remains at one.
De Bruyne drops the ball into a decent area for Sane to attack, but Manquillo gets in front of the German speedster and ushers the ball safely behind for a goal kick, despite Sane's protest.
City are so much in control that Fernandinho can afford to sit down and tie up his shoelaces without handicapping his side at all.
The Brazilian rises to his feet to dink a ball in behind for Walker, whose first-time cross is turned away at the near post by Hayden. Aguero was waiting to pounce so that was a very important intervention.
PENALTY! Newcastle are stretched by how quickly City move the ball and Manquillo bundles down Sterling on the left side of the area. There wasn't much contact, but enough to make Sterling go down.
GOAL! MAN CITY 2-0 NEWCASTLE (SERGIO AGUERO, pen)
No doubt this goal belongs to Aguero, although Darlow got a hand to his spot kick he could not keep it out. That takes the Argentine above Sterling in City's Premier League scoring charts with 15.
SUBSTITUTION: Benitez was preparing to bring on Perez prior to City's second goal and has stuck with that plan. Christian Atsu is the man sacrificed to give Joselu some more support.
SUBSTITUTION: The Spaniard follows that quickly by bringing on Yedlin for Manquillo, who was holding his ribs as he left the field so I can only assume that is an enforced change.
GOAL! MAN CITY 2-1 NEWCASTLE (JACOB MURPHY)
Out of nowhere, Newcastle pull themselves back into the game courtesy of Jacob Murphy's first goal for the club. Ciaran Clark picks out a really good pass in behind Zinchenko, and Murphy is clear on goal. He does not look confident as he runs through, but you would not have been able to tell by the calmness of the finish - a cheeky dink over Ederson which has given the away fans something to cling onto.
Aguero shifts the ball onto his right foot 20 yards out but bends a shot around the post.
SAVE! Newcastle were nearly out of this game within minutes of getting back into it, if not for a brilliant save from Darlow. Sterling meets a cross from Sane with a side-foot volley, but the goalkeeper scrambles across his line to tip the ball onto the post and clear.
CLOSE! Panic stations in the City camp as Diame bursts into the box and forces Ederson into what should have been a routine save, but the Brazilian spills it twice and gives Perez the chance of a follow-up which is blocked by Stones. A lucky escape for the City stopper.
Newcastle have a chance to counter four-on-three, but Perez picks the wrong pass as he aims for Yedlin when Murphy through the middle was the correct ball. He holds his hand up apologetically but that was a great opening for the Magpies and they may not get many more.
A 17th City corner of the match is cleared to the edge of the box, where Silva tees himself up for a shot which he pulls wide.
SUBSTITUTION: Dwight Gayle is on for Joselu, who had nothing to work with in that selfless 77-minute shift. Gayle adds some more pace to that Newcastle frontline.
YELLOW: Clark takes one for the team by tripping De Bruyne as City threatened to break through on goal.
CLOSE! City have numbers forward and Aguero ignores Sane on the left to tee up De Bruyne 20 yards out in the centre of the pitch, but he curls a shot just around Darlow's post.
GOAL! MAN CITY 3-1 NEWCASTLE (SERGIO AGUERO)
Aguero completes his hat-trick - his 11th in a City shirt - with a sweeping left-footed finish into the bottom corner from 10 yards out, but this goal is all about the skill and composure of Sane, who dances around three Newcastle defenders before picking out the Argentine with his pullback.
That goal has taken the stuffing out of Newcastle and all of a sudden the defenders look leggy. City are able to move the ball around them with ease, and Fernandinho smashes a shot against Clark at the end of a flowing move.
SUBSTITUTION: Guardiola makes his first change of the match, swapping Sterling for Bernardo Silva - his 20th appearance off the bench this season.
SUBSTITUTION: Sane also gets the last couple of minutes off as Brahim Diaz comes on for his Premier League debut. The midfielder immediately wants a penalty for what he thinks was a trip by Hayden but referee Paul Tierney waves away the appeals.
Shelvey produces an outside-of-the-boot cross that De Bruyne would admirer, and Gayle gets his head to the ball which balloons over the crossbar.
FULL TIME: MAN CITY 3-1 NEWCASTLE
Newcastle came to the Etihad with the intention of sitting back and frustrating the Premier League leaders, and did manage to contain 10 Manchester City players, but Aguero's hat-trick gets Pep Guardiola's side back to winning ways after their unbeaten run came to an end at Liverpool last weekend.
That's it from Eastlands, and our Premier League coverage on a good day for the top six and a poor day for the bottom half of the table. You can read our match report on City's victory by following this link, and be sure to return tomorrow for live coverage of Southampton vs. Spurs. Until then, goodbye!
