The penalty Anthony Gordon took in the second half of the game helped Newcastle United earn a draw of 1-1 against Manchester City St. James’ Park. Want to know how? Follow us, at Bongdalu!

In the recently concluded match between Manchester City and Newcastle United, the results came out as a draw of 1-1 in the second half of the game. In the first half of the game, Manchester City had the game in their hands as Josko Gvardiol managed to score. However, in the second half of the match, Newcastle refused to surrender as Gordon calmly took a penalty which prevented City from taking 3 points from the game.

Manchester Taking the Lead in the First Half

Manchester City have been consistently dropping some points throughout the week, thus, in this match they were looking forward to bounce back from their not-so-good performances. They were able to take control of the game as early as possible and with just 35 minutes, Josko Gvardiol, the Croatian defender was able to score the opening goal. While Jack Grealish set him up, Gvardiol was able to show his accuracy in front of the goal and finished off smartly.

Gvardiol, who joined City last summer for £73 million, has been a standout performer. Although he was naturally a central defender for the team, he has adapted playing in wider areas throughout his stay. While he may not be as speedy as teammate Kyle Walker, he is very much accurate in his positioning which made him very much a threat when it comes to attack.

Despite the fact that City almost dominated their possession, they missed the chance to win and double their lead as Newcastle goalkeeper Nick Pope was not able to make a good clearance straight to City midfielder Ilkay Gundogan. With this, Gundogan failed to capitalize, sending a weak chip over the goal with Pope out of position.

Newcastle’s Gets Back into the Game

In the second half of the game, Newcastle was determined to win the game, coming out stronger into the match. Despite mostly controlling the match, Manchester City have been struggling ever since midfielder Rodri suffered a knee injury and has been unavailable throughout the season. Although Mateo Kovacic and Rico Lewis tried to step in to fill Rodri’s absence, Newcastle still  found their way through.

The equalizer came during Newcastle’s best spell. City’s defense was split after Bruno Guimaraes played a perfect pass that have sent Kyle Walker and Anthony Gordon onside. As Gordon tried to rush towards the goal, he was fouled by City goalkeeper Ederson who was given a yellow card for his challenge. Reviewing the replay, there wasn’t that much contact between the two. However, Gordon felt the need to avoid Ederson which led him to have a penalty.

With this, Gordon took the penalty himself and confidently sent Ederson the wrong way, bringing Newcastle level at 1-1.

Both Sides Continued to Play for the Win

Having a draw score, both teams were determined to win the goal with just five minutes of time remaining. Newcastle’s substitute Sean Longstaff almost gave his team the lead, while Manchester City’s Bernardo Silva forced a save from Nick Pope deep into stoppage time. But despite the multiple close calls in the game, no one was able to break the tie and the match ended up in a 1-1 draw.

This result was treated as a disappointment by Manchester City. As they have started the season perfectly, they have been dropping a few points for the last week. On the other hand, Newcastle was very much pleased with the results. Although they have been constantly losing against City with a total of one win out of 34 matches, the draw was able to show how resilient they were as a team.

Gvardiol’s Importance Grows

Pep Guardiola, the manager of Manchester City, has just recently said that Rodri will remain irreplaceable. While it is true that the City may have missed their star midfielder, other players such as Gvardiol have been stepping up. Now, he has been one of the key figures that makes up the City’s defense.

The goal he made in the recently concluded match against Newcastle was just a testimony of his growing resilience in the game. Given a chance by Jack Grealish, Gvardiol struck the ball cleanly into the bottom corner. Fans and supporters may say that it is because of Rodri’s absence that the team wasn’t able to win but in reality, the situation is really more complex than it looks.While City have done a very good job, Newcastle also had their tactics which made City pay for the chances they did not take.

What This Result Means for Both Teams

For Manchester City, this draw is another bump in their season. As they were just starting the campaign with a clean slate of wins, they have now dropped a few more points in back-to-back matches. The team clearly felt the absence of Rodri, however, they also missed golden opportunities to win against Newcastle. Looking forward, Manager Pep Guardiola will surely need new solutions as the season progresses and Rodri continues his recovery and remains to be absent for the meantime.

On the contrary, the results for Newcastle is a positive one. While they might have hoped for all three points at home, a draw against the defending Premier League champions is still an achievement. The team is very much determined to stand up after going behind. After players like Anthony Gordon stepped up, Newcastle is now more confident and is looking forward for a top four finish this season