WHAT is it about Newcastle United and 4-3 defeats towards the end of the season? Twenty-five years on from the Premier League’s most famous seven-goal thriller, the Magpies found themselves involved in another rip-roaring encounter that saw emotions ebb and flow along with the action.

True, last night’s loss to newly-crowned champions Manchester City had none of the devastating impact of 1996’s 4-3 defeat to Liverpool, but in terms of exhilarating entertainment, it was right up there with that unforgettable night at Anfield.

Newcastle led through Emil Krafth’s early header, were pegged back by two goals in three minutes at the end of the first half, led again through a penalty from Joelinton and a goal from Joe Willock after a spot-kick of his own had been saved, but were ultimately undone by another burst of two goals in two minutes that saw Ferran Torres complete a sensational hat-trick. So much for the game being a insignificant dead rubber.

Steve Bruce’s side displayed the kind of counter-attacking adventure that their supporters had been crying out for in so many of their previous displays against the Premier League’s ‘big six’, so while they might have ended the evening empty-handed, they nevertheless emerged with a fair amount of credit.

So too did Manchester City, whose attacking brilliance enabled them to set a new Premier League record of 12 away victories in succession. Some of City’s defending was uncharacteristically slapdash, but the character that has been evident all season once again shone through, along with some individual brilliance from Torres.

Bruce watched his side go down fighting, and could at least content himself with the Manager of the Month award for April that was presented to him earlier in the day. The honour, which was the first of his Tyneside reign, was recognition for Newcastle’s four-game run against Tottenham, Burnley, West Ham and Liverpool that saw then pick up eight points and haul themselves to safety. Some supporters will question how much of that was down to the manager, but there is no doubt that having been staring down the barrel of relegation a couple of months ago, Bruce has played his part in securing another season of Premier League football.

Pep Guardiola, in the opposite dug-out, can claim to be the Manager of the Decade, such has been his remarkable run of success with Barcelona, Bayern Munich and now Manchester City. The Spaniard has claimed his third Premier League title in the space of four seasons since moving to the Etihad, and could yet add the Champions League trophy to a cabinet that also features this year’s Carabao Cup. With more than half-an-eye on this month’s rescheduled European final in Porto, it is safe to say that last night’s game was not at the top of Guardiola’s priority list.

That explains the presence of Scott Carson in goal, with the 35-year-old replacing Ederson to make his first Premier League appearance for a decade. Nathan Ake and Eric Garcia also came in from the cold, but for almost 25 minutes, Guardiola will have more than satisfied with the efforts of his makeshift side.

As is their wont, City dominated possession for the opening quarter of the game, although Newcastle’s backline just about stood firm on the edge of their own 18-yard box. Gabriel Jesus volleyed wide, Torres failed to find the target with a stabbed front-post effort and Joao Cancelo shot straight at Martin Dubravka after cutting inside Jacob Murphy.

The Magpies’ counter-attacking game plan failed to fire in the opening stages because on the rare occasions they were able to break, passes went astray. That changed in the 24th minute, sparking a manic passage of play that saw four goals fly in before half-time.

The goal glut started with Allan Saint-Maximin breaking clear in the Manchester City half and squaring the ball for Joelinton, whose shot was blocked behind by Kyle Walker. Jonjo Shelvey swung the resultant corner into the middle, and having climbed above Ake, Krafth powered home his first goal as a Newcastle player.

Dubravka saved a low free-kick from Ilkay Gundogan, but when Newcastle were awarded a set-piece of their own at the other end, they came within inches of doubling their lead. Miguel Almiron was fouled by Ake, and while Shelvey stepped up to hammer a superb 22-yard effort over the wall and beyond Carson’s despairing dive, the ball rattled back off the crossbar.

That proved the precursor to a Manchester City fightback, with the champions turning the game on its head with two goals in the space of three minutes.

There was a large slice of fortune to the first, with Cancelo receiving the ball from Rodri on the left and drilling in a low shot that took a hefty deflection off Murphy before arrowing into the bottom corner.

There was nothing fluky about the second though, with Torres fashioning a remarkable strike to fire City into the lead. Gundogan’s left-wing free-kick was positioned behind the Spaniard, but having edged ahead of Shelvey, he flicked out the outside of his boot to fashion a sensational first-time volley that flew past Dubravka.

Newcastle’s position of strength had evaporated in an instant, but showing the kind of heart and desire that has enabled them to put away from relegation trouble, the hosts equalised on the stroke of half-time.

It was a goal that would not have been awarded had it not been for VAR, with Saint-Maximin initially having been flagged offside as he broke away from the City defence before squaring to Joelinton, who was chopped down by a panicked Ake as he turned in the area.

A VAR check confirmed that Saint-Maximin had, in fact, been offside, so referee Kevin Friend reversed his initial on-field decision and pointed to the spot. Joelinton had been a nervous wreck when he missed a penalty at Newport earlier in the season, but in the absence of regular penalty taker Callum Wilson, the Brazilian stepped up and hammered a faultless spot-kick past Carson.

The breathless incident continued after the break, as did the flurry of goals, and Newcastle found themselves reclaiming their lead in the 62nd minute with their second penalty of the evening.

Willock won this one, breaking into the left-hand side of the area and forcing himself ahead of Walker, who bundled him to the ground. The Arsenal loanee claimed the ball ahead of Joelinton, and while his spot-kick was saved by Carson down to his left, the ball rebounded kindly enabling him to stab home the rebound and make it a remarkable five goals from his last five games.

Newcastle’s players celebrated wildly with Willock, but as had been the case in the first half, City immediately scored two goals in the space of three minutes to turn the game on its head once again.

Torres claimed them both, with his first effort seeing him turn home Jesus’ cross from the edge of the six-yard box. The Manchester City striker completed his hat-trick a couple of minutes later, displaying superb reflexes to volley home the rebound after Cancelo’s low strike had cannoned against the post.