Winning by 2 goals, Man City temporarily takes the top spot

Man City got off to a flying start in their Premier League title defence, winning 2-0 at Newcastle United last night...

Silva contributed greatly to Man City's victory

Goal scorer:

Man City: Silva (38'), Aguero (90'+2)

Because they did not have the strongest squad, nor were they really ready for the new season, Man City started the match quite cautiously at Newcastle. They actively played slowly and always maintained enough players in their home field. That was considered a reasonable strategy by coach Manuel Pellegrini, because Newcastle, like most clubs without many players attending the 2014 World Cup, had very good physical preparation when entering the new season. The Magpies are also inherently very good at counter-attacking defense.

Man City controlled the game, but struggled to get close to Newcastle's goal. Their strikers were not in a good position to shoot and often had to choose long-range options, such as Dzeko's missed shot in the box early in the game or Nasri's long-range shot in the 12th minute. In football, a big team sometimes doesn't need to constantly press to score, or win. Just a few moments of brilliance from a star can help them decide the match. This was true for Man City in this match.

When the game was deadlocked and tense, Man City unexpectedly scored a goal thanks to the difference of the stars. In the 38th minute, Toure cleverly crossed the ball for Edin Dzeko to penetrate the penalty area, and the Bosnian striker made a delicate backheel for David Silva to skillfully finish the opening score of the match.

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In the second half, Newcastle finally rose up. They actually created a much better game than in the first half. However, the inexperience of Newcastle's strikers meant that the attacks they created went nowhere. Newcastle's rush to find the equalizer made it easier for Man City to approach the opponent's goal. Jovetic and Dzeko both had chances to finish when they were almost only facing Newcastle goalkeeper Tim Krul in the 61st and 66th minutes, respectively, but unfortunately both lacked a bit of accuracy and power when shooting.

With the advantage of physical strength, Newcastle pressed Man City towards the end of the match. But as mentioned, the difference in star class is sometimes decisive in a match, not the situation and the number of opportunities. Newcastle continuously wasted good opportunities, such as Ayoze's one-on-one shot in the 85th minute. Meanwhile, Man City, despite having to defend towards the end of the match, scored another goal to seal a 2-0 victory thanks to the newly-entered star Sergio Arguero, with 2 consecutive shots.

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Man City's victory was not easy, but it was still considered the most impressive among the big teams that played in the opening round of the Premier League. This was the result of the clever tactics of coach Pellegrini and the star quality of Man City players.

Line-up:
Newcastle:Krul; Janmaat, Williamson, Coloccini, Dummett; Colback, Anita (Obertan, 63'); Gouffran (Aarons, 75'), Sissoko, Cabella; Riviere (Ayoze, 84').
Man City:Hart; Clichy, Demichelis, Kompany, Kolarov; Nasri (Milner, 79'), Fernando, Toure, Silva; Jovetic (Fernandinho, 73'), Dzeko (Aguero, 83').

According to Bongdaplus