In a tight and tense affair in the opening phases of the match, it was City who took their chance to break the deadlock.
Julian Alvarez fired a rocket into the top corner of the net, with the shot too powerful for Nick Pope.
The strike proved to be the only goal of the game, as City made it two wins out of two to start the new campaign.
Speaking at his post-match interview, Akanji spoke of the desire of his teammates to put on a good performance after the midweek UEFA Super Cup triumph.
“It felt amazing,” the Swiss defender expressed.
“Newcastle are a great team and it wasn’t easy against them. We did a good job. With the game in Greece the recovery was not as planned and it’s still early but we showed a great game today.”
City set a new record in the Magpies win, securing a 17th successive home victory across all competitions.
Guardiola‘s men have conceded only seven goals in that period and tonight we picked up our second clean sheet of the new season.
“Always as defender it is good to keep a clean sheet. With the ball we played great.
“Overall we did great and I can’t remember 100% any chance of theirs.”
Squad rotation and adaptable tactics are a part of Guardiola’s approach, and Akanji been central to that after excelling in the inverted role.
“With John Stones‘ injury I had two or three training sessions in there [holding midfield] and I’m starting to feel pretty comfortable now but I think it’s the fifth position I’ve played in this team now.”
Akanji’s teammate, Phil Foden, displayed another Man of the Match performance at the Etihad in the Saturday evening win, and the defender was full of praise for the England international.
“Phil [Foden] is so good with his back to goal. He moves between the spaces as we saw again today and I hope he continues doing it this season.”
