Man City Vs Newcastle: O'Reilly brace, Milner record and Guardiola's cocktail call

The man city vs newcastle clash finished 2-1 as Manchester City moved within two points of Premier League leaders Arsenal. Nico O'Reilly scored twice, with Lewis Hall's equaliser sandwiched between O'Reilly's goals, and Pep Guardiola declared three days off for his players and urged them to "enjoy life" with "caipirinhas and daiquiris. "

Man City Vs Newcastle match facts

Manchester City beat Newcastle 2-1, a result that left City two points behind Arsenal in the title race. Nico O'Reilly scored twice; his goals came either side of Lewis Hall's equaliser. The decisive second O'Reilly header arrived from a perfect cross supplied by Erling Haaland.

O'Reilly's goals and the sequence

Nico O'Reilly opened the scoring, Lewis Hall levelled, and O'Reilly headed home the winner to complete his brace. Guardiola praised O'Reilly's physicality in midfield, saying the youngster now plays in his position, is "so complete and so young, " and cited him alongside Phil Foden and Rico Lewis as examples produced by the club academy.

Guardiola's cocktail remark and rest

Pep Guardiola celebrated the win emphatically, pumping his fists and telling his squad they could have three days off and should "enjoy life" with "caipirinhas and daiquiris. " He described the result as "massive" and said the connection with the crowd at the Etihad was the best of the season, adding that the team needed those vibes as the run-in continues.

Reaction from Lescott and Guardiola

Joleon Lescott, a former Manchester City defender, said young players want to play and will accept any role, but when a manager trusts them and gives them their best position it builds confidence; Lescott suggested that this trust can make a player "becoming undroppable, " noting the influence of the player who scored twice. Guardiola warned that 70% of his squad have never been in such a close title race and that the team must learn to live with it. He praised Newcastle as "incredible" for their physicality and speed and said that, after a demanding sequence that includes Champions League travel, the victory was hard-earned.

Haaland, work-rate and praise

Guardiola called Erling Haaland "man of the match, " saying "without Erling it would not have been possible. " He highlighted Haaland's lung-busting work-rate, intense pressing, towering defensive headers and the cross that led to the winning goal. Guardiola also pointed to experienced figures such as Ruben Dias and Rodri as players familiar with a title run.

Newcastle context and trips

Guardiola noted Newcastle's recent Champions League game, saying it was 5-0 at half-time on Wednesday, and referenced the impact of the club's change in ownership since Saudi Arabia took over the club, which he said has altered their physicality and pace. Newcastle had made a 5, 000-mile round trip to Azerbaijan to face Qarabag in the Champions League play-off earlier in the week.

Wider Premier League picture

City's win ramps up pressure on Arsenal, who now head into a north London showdown with Tottenham on Sunday and were described as having surrendered a two-goal lead to draw with Wolverhampton Wanderers in midweek. Guardiola's reaction left him saying "Over to you, Arsenal. " Tottenham will have new interim manager Igor Tudor in the dug-out.

Other results and records

Match reports elsewhere included Brentford 0-2 Brighton, a result that coincided with James Milner breaking the top-flight appearance record. Other weekend scores referenced were Chelsea 1-1 Burnley, Aston Villa 1-1 Leeds and West Ham 0-0 Bournemouth. One live blog of the fixture list for the game called "Man City 2-1 Newcastle highlights" was unavailable at the time.

Guardiola said the team deserved the short break before another battle at Leeds, warned that Newcastle are a "really tough team" with players such as Dan Burn and Joelinton able to play balls in behind, and reflected on the difficulty of having to face Newcastle again in a few weeks in the FA Cup after winning three times in a row against them. He underlined that while the performance mattered, improvement was still required to compete to the end of the season.

This is all for this live text today but we'll be back for four more important Premier League games; that north London derby could be a cracker.