Signs of promise despite another Magpies defeat

If you’re looking for reasons to be negative, then Newcastle’s position in the Premier League’s bottom three is clearly a cause for concern. Regardless of the quality of the opposition, a haul of one point from the first four matches is hardly an ideal start to the season. Newcastle started slowly last term, but had still clambered into the top half of the table after their opening four games.

The squad remains in a state of flux, with Rafael Benitez shuffling formations and personnel on a surprisingly regular basis, and last week’s off-field dramas relating to a training-ground bust-up between Jamaal Lascelles and Matt Ritchie hinted at tensions that were not apparent last season. Throw in yet another depressingly early exit from the Carabao Cup, and you have plenty of the core ingredients to pen yet another ‘club in crisis’ tale.

It didn’t really feel that like on Saturday though, and that is why it might be better to hold judgement on Newcastle’s fortunes despite their position in the relegation zone.

A one-goal defeat to Manchester City is hardly an embarrassment, and while the Magpies might only have had 22 per cent of possession at the Etihad Stadium, their opponents were looking decidedly edgy as they tried to play out time in the closing stages.

Trailing to Raheem Sterling’s eighth-minute finish, the visitors might well have gone under had Pep Guardiola’s champions added to their lead as they dominated the opening half-hour. Instead, they hauled themselves level courtesy of DeAndre Yedlin’s superb counter-attacking strike and spent the final hour of the game frustrating their opponents through a combination of astute organisation and feverish spirit.

Those qualities were the bedrock of their success last season, and remain in place. They have been supplemented by some transfer additions, and while the majority of Newcastle’s summer arrivals are yet to make their mark, Benitez remains confident they will prove valuable assets in time.

Things do not get that much easier after the current international break – Newcastle take on Arsenal, Leicester City and Manchester United in three of their next four games – but while Benitez’s negative tactics have been widely criticised in the last few weeks, his side’s ability to remain competitive against both Chelsea and Manchester City has to be interpreted as a positive sign.

“I think we have more or less seen what we have,” said Benitez. “It is a team that is united, a team that is working hard in defence, and that will also try to go and attack. I cannot say we are better than anyone, but if we work like we did today (against City), I cannot say we are worse than anyone either.

“In terms of the squad, when you look at the players we have now, we have some options in different positions that maybe we didn’t have last season. In terms of the team, it depends on the new players and whether they can give us something different because it is more or less the same team.

“The problem we have is the other teams have been spending money and bringing in players. But if we can keep the organisation of the team, keep the same team spirit and improve a little bit in the transition and attack, then I think we will have chances to win more games. And as soon as you win a couple of games, the confidence goes higher and then you have more chances to continue winning.”

A victory would undoubtedly provide a massive morale boost, but for all the doom and gloom that has descended on Tyneside in the last couple of weeks, this does not look like a Newcastle side devoid of confidence or belief.

Having equalised against Chelsea only to concede a late winner via an unfortunate deflection off Yedlin, Newcastle’s players once again dug deep to shrug off the disappointment of falling behind again at the Etihad.

Lascelles’ return helped shore up the five-man backline, and Martin Dubravka provided a resolute last line of defence, with the highlight of his display came courtesy of a remarkable second-half triple save that saw him thwart Fernandinho and David Silva.

The strength of Newcastle’s dressing-room unity had been questioned in the wake of Lascelles’ spat in the build-up to the Chelsea game, but Benitez was quick to shrug off any talk of lingering problems prior to the trip to the Etihad, and his players delivered a powerful riposte to accusations of a fractured camp as they ran themselves into the ground against arguably the most incisive attacking line-up in the league.

“The spirit is really good, but it has been this way for a few years now,” said midfielder Mo Diame. “We know we need to work hard together if we want to achieve something, and it’s what we’re doing. We just have to stay positive and remember that this is the right way to do things, to keep going and keep working and then the results will come.

“People can talk, it’s one part of football. But the most important part is that, as a group, as players and staff, we all know what we want and we’re all sticking with our plan and we’re all sticking together. Of course, we will be criticised every week - that is part of football and we need to accept it.”

Benitez’s game plan against the likes of City is well-rehearsed by now, so it was hardly a surprise to see Newcastle’s players camped on the edge of their own penalty area for long spells of the game.

What was rather more of a surprise was the sight of Yedlin haring down the right flank to claim his side’s equaliser, with the American full-back outpacing Gabriel Jesus as he slotted home Salomon Rondon’s square pass.

Unsurprisingly, Manchester City were the dominant attacking force throughout, with David Silva pulling the strings at the heart of midfield and Sterling proving a constant threat on the left, but it needed a sensational long-range strike from Kyle Walker to break Newcastle’s resistance for a second time.

Sergio Aguero, so often Newcastle’s nemesis, rolled the ball into Walker’s path, and the England international drilled a fantastic 30-yard finish beyond Dubravka’s right hand.