With 71% possession and 21 shots compared to seven for our visitors, Pep Guardiola‘s men were dominant against Newcastle at the Etihad Stadium.
Raheem Sterling‘s diving header calmed the nerves in the 19th minute before Aymeric Laporte followed up an Ilkay Gundogan effort to double the lead before half-time.
A near-post header from Rodrigo made it three just after the hour mark before the rout was completed with a sweeping Phil Foden finish and Sterling‘s second in the final moments.
This was the 30th time we have scored at least five goals in a Premier League game since Guardiola‘s arrival; more than the next two sides (Liverpool - 14, Tottenham - 13) combined.
DELIGHTFUL DE BRUYNE
Kevin De Bruyne was named Man of the Match, largely down to his chance creation. According to FotMob, the Belgian created three big chances with Jack Grealish, Joao Cancelo and Oleksandr Zinchenko all next, with one each.
According to FBref.com, he had eight shot-creating actions in the match; more than any other player. Jack Grealish was second with seven.
His 50 completed passes (at a 91% pass completion rate) and just one shot shows that this was a performance all about facilitating those in front of him.
As the graphic below demonstrates, many of those passes were in the opposition half, forcing Eddie Howe’s team on to the back foot.
Despite this action packed performance, our playmaker was only directly involved in one goal; his corner headed in by Rodrigo for the third.
According to Opta, he now has an assist every 186 minutes of Premier League football, meaning he sets up a team-mate more often than any other player in Premier League history with at least 15 assists to their name.
SUPER STERLING
Sterling‘s opener made him only the second player to reach 50 Premier League goals at the Etihad Stadium (behind Sergio Aguero with 106).
His two goals bookended the victory and came in two very different ways.
The first was a close range header that was started by neat play on the left between Grealish and Ilkay Gundogan before the German launched a ball on to the head of Cancelo, who squared for Sterling.
The second also started down the left, this time with Foden & Grealish exchanging passes. On both occasions, Sterling‘s first involvement in the move was his finish.
With an xG of 0.99, the England winger far outperformed that metric in this match. Indeed, with just two shots both resulting in goals, it was an incredibly efficient showing in front of goal.
PASS, PASS, PASS
It’s nothing new under Guardiola, but City once again outpassed their opponents on Sunday. In total, we played 712 passes compared to Newcastle’s 281. More than half of our passes (370), were played in the opposition half.
The midfield duo of Rodrigo (99 passes) & Gundogan (95) dictated the play and spent the most time on the ball. In fact, the top nine players in terms of passes were all City players.
Rodrigo now finds himself in third place in terms of most passes played by a Premier League player this season with 2,593, only behind team-mates Laporte (2,695) and Cancelo (2,687).
As the below touch map shows, our Spaniard made vital interventions in all areas of the pitch.
WHERE IT LEAVES US
City’s 89 goals make us the top scorers so far this season, while the margin of victory was a healthy boost to our goal difference. That figure now sits at +68, four ahead of title rivals Liverpool.
Ederson is now tied with Liverpool’s Alisson in the race between goalkeepers for the most clean sheets. Both Brazilians have 20.
Raheem Sterling is our top scorer with 12 goals, ten behind the country’s leading marksman Mo Salah. However, five City players have scored eight or more, which is more than any other team.
Gabriel Jesus has eight assists, with Joao Cancelo & Kevin De Bruyne also in the top ten with seven to their names.
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