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Pep Guardiola\u2019s side weren\u2019t at their best but they held on for a victory that moved them within two points of leaders Arsenal.<\/p>\n
The Gunners travel to Tottenham on Sunday, but regardless of the result in the north London derby, City control the destiny of the title.<\/p>\n
They will have a game in hand on Arsenal after this weekend and host Mikel Arteta\u2019s men in April, with 11 wins from their last 11 matches guaranteed to secure the seventh title of Guardiola\u2019s reign.<\/p>\n
Guardiola had claimed on Friday that he \u201ccouldn\u2019t care less\u201d about Arsenal\u2019s recent stumble breathing new life into the title race.<\/p>\n
But while Arsenal have spluttered with two wins from their last seven league games, City are heating up at just the right time.<\/p>\n
A fifth successive win in all competitions extended their unbeaten run to eight games.<\/p>\n
This was the fourth meeting between City and Newcastle already this season, with a fifth on the way in the last 16 of the FA Cup next month.<\/p>\n
Newcastle had never managed a win in 20 previous visits to the Etihad Stadium in the Premier League, also losing there in the League Cup semi-finals this season.<\/p>\n
Drained by a 5,000-mile round trip to Baku for their Champions League play-off first leg against Qarabag on Wednesday, Newcastle had persuaded the Premier League to move their trip to Manchester to Saturday evening from its original early slot.<\/p>\n
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 21: Nico O’Reilly of Manchester City celebrates scoring his team’s second goal during the Premier League match between Manchester City and Newcastle United at Etihad Stadium on February 21, 2026 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Stu Forster\/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n
– Tense finale –<\/p>\n
City wasted little time testing Newcastle\u2019s fatigue levels with a vibrant start. Their early pressure paid off with an eye-catching opener in the 14th minute. After Erling Haaland flicked the ball into Omar Marmoush, the Egyptian played a clever pass towards O\u2019Reilly, who advanced to the edge of the area and planted a powerful finish past Nick Pope.<\/p>\n
Anthony Gordon scored four times in Newcastle\u2019s 6-1 rout of Qarabag and the England forward threatened an immediate equaliser with a stinging strike that Gianluigi Donnarumma palmed away.<\/p>\n
Far too open at the back throughout the game, City were caught by a sucker punch in the 22nd minute.<\/p>\n
They made a hash of clearing a corner and Hall pounced with a drive from the edge of the area that took a hefty deflection off City defender Rayan Ait-Nouri on its way past the wrong-footed Donnarumma.<\/p>\n
Guardiola\u2019s men hit back, retaking the lead five minutes later. Picked out by Antoine Semenyo, Haaland lofted a superb cross into the Newcastle area and O\u2019Reilly timed his run perfectly to thump a downwards header past Pope from close range.<\/p>\n
Yet Hall went close to a second equaliser after the interval, curling narrowly wide with an audacious effort that drew an admiring thumbs-up from Donnarumma.<\/p>\n
Guardiola grew frustrated with City\u2019s failure to kill off Newcastle, urging his players to \u201ckeep the ball better\u201d as he stalked the touchline.<\/p>\n
The City manager\u2019s blood pressure spiked again when Semenyo shot tamely at Pope from a good position, but City survived the tense finale to keep the pressure on Arsenal.<\/p>\n
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 21: Pep Guardiola, Manager of Manchester City, reacts during the Premier League match between Manchester City and Newcastle United at Etihad Stadium on February 21, 2026 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Carl Recine\/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n
Earlier, Burnley dented Chelsea\u2019s chances of Champions League qualification by snatching a 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge, while Aston Villa also struck late to salvage a point against Leeds on Saturday.<\/p>\n
The Blues climb into the Premier League\u2019s top four only on goal difference after they paid for failing to build on Joao Pedro\u2019s fourth-minute opener.<\/p>\n
Chelsea were dominant until Wesley Fofana was sent off with 18 minutes remaining for a second yellow card.<\/p>\n
Burnley took full advantage as Zian Flemming headed in from a corner in the 93rd minute to boost their battle to beat the drop.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is not enough clean sheets and not enough basic values of defending set-pieces. That is something I have to address,\u201d said Chelsea boss Liam Rosenior.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere were players on the pitch who were assigned to do their job and who didn\u2019t do their job. That is what cost us the two points.\u201d The Clarets are still eight points from safety in their daunting fight for survival.<\/p>\n
LONDON, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 21: Wesley Fofana of Chelsea is shown a red card by match referee Lewis Smith during the Premier League match between Chelsea and Burnley at Stamford Bridge on February 21, 2026 in London, England. (Photo by Jasper Wax\/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n
– Milner sets appearance record –<\/p>\n
Villa defied the odds to keep pace with Arsenal and Manchester City in the title race until recent weeks, but a 1-1 draw continued their poor run at Villa Park.<\/p>\n
Anton Stach\u2019s spectacular free-kick from fully 40 yards (37 metres) at an angle caught out Emi Martinez at his near post to give Leeds the advantage.<\/p>\n
Daniel Farke\u2019s men have lost just twice in their last 16 games to relieve their fears of being dragged into a battle for survival.<\/p>\n
But Tammy Abraham then snatched a point for Villa two minutes from time. Five Premier League sides are set to qualify for next season\u2019s Champions League thanks to the strong performance of English sides in European competition this season.<\/p>\n
But Liverpool and Manchester United have the chance to close in when they face Nottingham Forest and Everton in the coming days.<\/p>\n
James Milner set a new record of 654 Premier League appearances in Brighton\u2019s 2-0 win at Brentford.<\/p>\n
The 40-year-old started for the Seagulls as they secured a first win in seven games to ease the pressure on boss Fabian Hurzeler.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s the drive and hunger. You want to be the best every day whether it\u2019s game or training,\u201d said Milner on the secret to his longevity.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m surrounded by a lot of young lads, I want to contribute to their careers, push them and help them get to the highest level as quick as possible. That\u2019s what I\u2019m here to do.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adamant his ability is still as valuable as his experience, Milner said: \u201cI\u2019ve been a bit frustrated this year, maybe not getting the minutes, but it\u2019s a fine balance because of course we have to develop players as well and we want to win.<\/p>\n
\u201cHopefully I\u2019ve proved the last few games that I can still contribute on the pitch.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m delighted to be part of it and the dressing room, it\u2019s full of incredible characters and very good players, and a good up and coming manager.\u201d<\/p>\n
BRENTFORD, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 21: Lewis Dunk (R) and Danny Welbeck of Brighton & Hove Albion (L) gather around teammate James Milner to celebrate him breaking the Premier League appearance record following the team’s victory in the Premier League match between Brentford and Brighton & Hove Albion at Gtech Community Stadium on February 21, 2026 in Brentford, England. (Photo by Luke Hales\/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n
Diego Gomez drilled in the opening goal for the visitors after Ferdi Kadioglu\u2019s stunning strike came back off the bar.<\/p>\n
Danny Welbeck then pounced on some slack Brentford defending to double Brighton\u2019s lead just before half-time.<\/p>\n
Third-bottom West Ham missed a chance to boost their survival bid after a dour 0-0 draw with Bournemouth at the London Stadium.<\/p>\n
The Hammers are two points behind fourth-bottom Forest, who host Liverpool on Sunday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Manchester City stepped up their Premier League title charge as Nico O\u2019Reilly\u2019s double sealed a vital 2-1 win…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":495883,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[11470,249860,53035,6236,64,63,249867,55835,249859,6257,69233,212331,67610,1208,2057,34675,6246,249864,2105,67617,78347,78345,249870,208015,148709,11999,6255,3583,217131,249866,249862,249869,85,249861,231815,22294,3586,249863,249865,12046,67740,249868],"class_list":{"0":"post-495882","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports","8":"tag-adelaide-united","9":"tag-appearances-record","10":"tag-arsenal-football-club","11":"tag-aston-villa-football-club","12":"tag-au","13":"tag-australia","14":"tag-brentford-and-brighton-ampamp-hove-albion","15":"tag-brighton","16":"tag-burnley-football-club","17":"tag-champions-league","18":"tag-danny-welbeck","19":"tag-diego-gomez","20":"tag-emi-martinez","21":"tag-england","22":"tag-europe","23":"tag-european-competition","24":"tag-football-news","25":"tag-fourth-minute-opener","26":"tag-getty-images-inc","27":"tag-goal-difference","28":"tag-james-milner","29":"tag-lewis-dunk","30":"tag-lewis-smith","31":"tag-liam-rosenior","32":"tag-luke-hales","33":"tag-manchester-city-football-club","34":"tag-manchester-united-football-club","35":"tag-northern-europe","36":"tag-red-card","37":"tag-red-card-drama","38":"tag-relegation-battlers","39":"tag-sets-appearance","40":"tag-sports","41":"tag-survival-bid","42":"tag-tammy-abraham","43":"tag-title-race","44":"tag-united-kingdom","45":"tag-veteran-breaks","46":"tag-wesley-fofana","47":"tag-west-ham-united-football-club","48":"tag-yellow-card","49":"tag-zian-flemming"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/495882","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=495882"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/495882\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/495883"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=495882"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=495882"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=495882"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}