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Eddie Howe had exhausted all options.

The Newcastle United head coach previously deployed sides who pressed Manchester City aggressively. He tried alternative approaches with teams that dropped deeper. Different systems were tested, but none yielded victory.

Howe was barely exaggerating when he said "we've tried everything" ahead of the weekend fixture.

Yet he found an answer.

After suffering a disappointing defeat at Brentford prior to the international break, Newcastle required a response, The Newcastle management created a blueprint to finally defeat Guardiola's team.

Their approach worked perfectly, resulting in a 2-1 triumph at a vibrant St James' Park as Howe secured his first top-flight victory against Pep Guardiola's team at his 17th attempt.

"I have extensive documentation of unsuccessful approaches against them, so I know what to avoid," Howe explained. "Telling you what does is a very small piece of paper, but you just try and learn from experience and just tweak something the next time. This was our process."

'I don't believe in radical overhauls'

The foundation was established in the days following Newcastle's 3-1 defeat at Brentford this month.

The manager invested extensive time studying video, evaluating practice sessions and looking for answers to their irregular season.

With a smaller squad during the international period, the team worked on restoring "their vitality and movement".

Important modifications were made specifically for the City match.

Bruno Guimaraes was deployed centrally in midfield, a role previously held by Sandro Tonali, with returning defenders Lewis Hall and Tino Livramento making their first joint start since autumn and creating a significant difference.

Defender Fabian Schar earned his first league start since autumn, coming in for Sven Botman.

However, rather than implementing radical changes, Howe maintained his preferred 4-3-3 system while two adjustments were enforced due to the absence of injured players Kieran Trippier and Anthony Gordon.

The majority of players who featured at Brentford and, indeed, in the damaging defeat at West Ham, were given opportunities to redeem themselves.

"I'm against making wholesale changes," Howe stated. "Unless the situation becomes desperate, which it hasn't, and that's not my managerial philosophy.

"I'm confident in identifying our best performers and aim to give them maximum chances to showcase their abilities through guidance and development opportunities."

Barnes Rises to the Occasion

Nevertheless, adjustments were clearly necessary.

Prior to this game, only Wolves and Leeds United had netted fewer Premier League goals than Newcastle.

High-profile acquisition Nick Woltemade had looked disconnected, receiving inadequate support, especially on the road.

Despite Woltemade's absence with the German national team, the squad developed new supporting movements for their forward such as Barnes and Jacob Murphy, to maximize his effectiveness upon return.

Newcastle certainly created opportunities for Woltemade on Saturday, who was denied on three occasions by Manchester City goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma.

Although Newcastle had become too Woltemade-focused, other attackers have emerged as reliable options.

Especially Barnes.

The attacker squandered important chances in the opening period - including missing an empty net - and confessed he wasn't "the fan favorite" during the break.

However, Barnes not only broke the deadlock with a superb strike from distance after halftime, he secured victory moments after City leveled through Ruben Dias.

Newcastle had been ahead versus Arsenal, Brentford and West Ham but surrendered their leads.

Yet they remained resilient after City's equalizer and throughout eight minutes of added time.

The match featured Newcastle outperforming City in defensive statistics, including tackles, headers and blocks.

Although Manchester City controlled possession, which naturally affects the statistics, Newcastle stood firm and made nearly twice as many clearances (36) and restricted the visitors to just four shots on target.

That defensive performance impressed former Newcastle defender Jonathan Woodgate.

"Defensively they were outstanding, making it extremely challenging for City to exploit gaps in midfield," he commented during radio coverage. "Second half I considered them the superior team, consistently catching City on counter-attacks and ultimately scoring two magnificent goals by Barnes. What an entertaining match."

Home Dominance Continues

However, should this victory at a illuminated St James' Park be considered completely unexpected?

Only Manchester City (13) have won more Premier League home games than Howe's team (11) in 2025.

Since the beginning of last season, Newcastle have won eight, drawn two and lost just two of their home fixtures against Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester United and Tottenham across all competitions.

Nonetheless, on their travels, Newcastle haven't secured a league victory since spring.

This accounts for their position just one point clear of the bottom three prior to Saturday's important win.

"While I'd like to assert that supporters shouldn't affect player performance, it completely changes dynamics," Howe admitted. "We must determine how to transfer positive energy into our away performances when we lack crowd support.

"That's our responsibility to resolve, whether through system adjustments, personnel changes. Whatever proves necessary, we must dedicate ourselves to identifying solutions."