Three 8/10s, several 7s and a 6 – Newcastle player ratings from 1-1 draw vs Man City

A second-half penalty from Anthony Gordon saw Newcastle earn a well-deserved point against Manchester City at St James’ Park. Check out our player ratings from the game below:

Nick Pope (7.5) – Quiet first half aside from Josko Gvardiol’s excellent opener, but some stellar saves against Erling Haaland and Bernardo Silva kept the visitors at bay.

Kieran Trippier (7): Caught out for the opener after diving in on Grealish, but offered some welcome grit, rallied the troops throughout and played a few nice balls down the line.

Fabian Schar (7): Incisive long-range passes coupled with the odd reckless moment from the former Swiss international. However, his ability to pick a pass, read the game and help Burn keep Haaland quiet helped us to a vital point.

Dan Burn (7): Locked in battle with Haaland for much of the afternoon. Found himself outmuscled by the Norwegian at times and bewildered by Gvardiol for the Croatian’s opener, but stood up well to a tough test in the end. A few vitals headers and blocks.

Lewis Hall (8*): His best game of the season and a much-improved display. 10 ball recoveries, far better defensively, carried the ball well and played some lovely passes too. Physicality remains a noticeable issue, but still a fantastic option moving forward and contributing to Howe’s favoured high pressing style.

Sandro Tonali (7): Welcome return to the starting XI for the Italian, who added some energy and class to the right side of our midfield without being at his best. Embroiled in frequent tussles with Jack Grealish and should be afforded more starts in the future as he gets back to full speed.

Bruno Guimaraes (8): Decisive through ball assisted Gordon’s penalty, won so many of his duels and did superbly to stay disciplined after an early booking. Much more like it from him after looking below his best so far this season.

Joelinton (7.5): Immense physical presence allowed Newcastle not to be overran in midfield and was unlucky not to score in dying seconds of the first half. Gave away the ball in bad areas a couple of times from slack passes, which remains one of his weak points, but he often looks a different beast at St James’ Park.

Jacob Murphy (7): More than held his own on the right flank and fiercely took on Gvardiol with some great run in behind and ball carries. Absence of a designated centre-forward potentially cost him an assist this afternoon, as he put in a few lovely balls that deserved more.

Anthony Gordon (8): Levelled the game with an excellent burst of speed to win the penalty, which he then converted. Did superbly in Isak’s absence, pressing from the off, taking the game to City with darting runs and winning some valuable free kicks.

Harvey Barnes (6): Struggled at times against Walker’s speed and positioning, meaning he didn’t see much of the ball or have much joy in an attacking sense. Positioning could have been better for latching onto balls provided by Murphy and Gordon, although he put in a shift.

Substitutes

Joe Willock (5): Little impact to speak of, but was a welcome burst of pace and threat late in the second half.

Sean Longstaff (5): Almost scored with his first touch of the ball, but some sloppy mistakes in the Newcastle third almost put his side in precarious situations over the mounting City pressure.

Tino Livramento (6): Brief cameo saw youngster come on for Trippier following cramp struggles in the second half. Composed performance against pacey threat of Doku from off the City bench.