Guardiola fumes as Newcastle stun Man City with contentious 2-1 win

Pep Guardiola was left furious after Manchester City’s Premier League title bid suffered a setback in a controversial 2-1 defeat at Newcastle on Saturday.

City fell behind to Harvey Barnes’ 64th-minute strike before Ruben Dias equalised just four minutes later. But moments after the leveller, Barnes struck again for a Newcastle winner that stood only after a lengthy VAR review for a possible offside involving Bruno Guimaraes.

Guardiola was incensed, insisting City goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma had been fouled in the buildup and voicing anger over an earlier penalty shout when Phil Foden went down under a heavy challenge from Fabian Schar. The City boss stormed onto the pitch at full-time to confront referee Sam Barrott, though he later insisted “everything is fine”.

“It happened in the Bournemouth game and it happened today again,” he said sarcastically of VAR’s decision. “You see Donnarumma complain and that is because something wrong happened.”

The defeat — City’s fourth in the league this season — leaves them third, four points behind Arsenal, who face Tottenham on Sunday. It also halted City’s momentum after a dominant 3-0 win over Liverpool before the international break.

Erling Haaland endured a rare off day, failing to score for only the third time in 21 club and international matches this season. Chasing his 100th Premier League goal in just 109 appearances, he missed several chances as City produced an uncharacteristically wasteful performance.

Newcastle, meanwhile, earned only their second league win over City in their last 36 meetings. Eddie Howe’s first Premier League victory against Guardiola’s side also eased the sting of back-to-back defeats to West Ham and Brentford before the break.

Donnarumma almost gifted Newcastle an early lead with a misplaced pass straight to Barnes, while Haaland missed a similar golden opportunity moments later. Foden squandered two big chances and was denied a penalty after Schar’s forceful challenge, while City were also frustrated when Jacob Murphy escaped punishment for an apparent handball.

Barnes himself missed a sitter before half-time, but he made amends after the break with a crisp low finish to make it 1-0. Dias’ equaliser briefly revived City’s hopes, only for Newcastle to respond immediately: Nick Woltemade’s header hit the bar via Guimaraes, and Barnes smashed in the rebound.

A lengthy VAR check followed, but the goal was eventually awarded — sparking celebrations at St James’ Park and leaving Guardiola’s team to rue a costly afternoon.