Nico O’Reilly was a stellar contributor, with those two goals and an excellent display of versatility playing behind City’s attackers which will be intriguing viewing for England head coach Thomas Tuchel.
He is considered a left-back but this showed he has other options, while Newcastle United’s Lewis Hall also scored and showed enough to suggest he is another viable defensive option for Tuchel at the World Cup.
City may not have the mechanical fluidity and relentless winning style of Guardiola’s sides that won four successive Premier League titles, but those memories may still resonate with many of those who will play their part in the coming weeks.
One of the newest faces is the giant Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, winner of the Champions League with Paris St-Germain last season, who is now chasing new honors and horizons with Manchester City.
He is a flawed goalkeeper in some respects, especially on crosses, but he has that rare and invaluable habit of making impressive winning saves that make up for other failings.
He did it with a stunning injury-time save from Alexis Mac Allister in a City win at Liverpool that can still be regarded as the turning point of their season, and he did it again here.
As the final seconds ticked down with Newcastle pushing for a point, Donnarumma used that giant wingspan to stretch to his right and deflect Harvey Barnes’ shot into the goal.
Seconds later, the final whistle sounded and the Etihad Stadium was filled with celebration.
Time will tell how important those saves, those wins, will be, but City now find themselves in a position where they have flourished before.
He wins all his games. Win the first division.
Now the stage moves to north London, along with the pressure, as Arsenal face that dangerous trip against Spurs.
