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Eddie Howe had exhausted all options.

The Newcastle United head coach previously deployed sides who pressed Manchester City aggressively. He fielded others who adopted deeper defensive positions. Various tactical setups were attempted, none proving successful.

It reached the point where Howe was only partially joking when he stated "we don't have anything new left" before Saturday's match.

But he discovered a solution.

Following a bruising loss at Brentford, the Magpies urgently needed to bounce back, Howe and his coaching staff developed a strategy to finally overcome Manchester City in the Premier League.

The strategy paid dividends with a 2-1 win in front of a passionate home crowd marking Howe's initial Premier League success against Guardiola's side after 16 previous failures.

"I've got lists and lists of things that haven't worked against them so I could probably tell you what doesn't," 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.

Howe spent numerous hours examining game film, assessing training and searching for fixes to their up-and-down form.

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

Several notable adjustments were implemented for Manchester City's visit.

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.

Despite the changes, Howe avoided dramatic overhauls and preserved his trusted 4-3-3 setup and two of the three modifications to his starting lineup were essentially forced after Kieran Trippier and Anthony Gordon missed out through injury.

The core group from the Brentford and West Ham matches were provided with redemption opportunities.

"I don't agree with completely overhauling systems," Howe emphasized. "Only in crisis situations would I consider drastic changes, which this isn't, and that's not my approach.

"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 Delivers When It Matters

Nevertheless, adjustments were clearly necessary.

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

New signing Nick Woltemade had seemed detached, with minimal attacking supply, particularly away from home.

Despite Woltemade's absence with the German national team, the squad developed new supporting movements for their forward featuring Barnes and Jacob Murphy, to optimize his contribution after his international commitment.

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

But whereas Newcastle were once overly dependent on Woltemade, other players have begun to contribute significantly.

Particularly Barnes.

The forward was responsible for several significant misses in the first half - even failing to hit the target with an open goal - and admitted he was not "the most popular man" at halftime.

Yet Barnes didn't just score the opener with a quality finish from range in the second period, he netted the decider shortly after City drew level via Ruben Dias.

Newcastle previously led against Arsenal, Brentford and West Ham only to ultimately lose.

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 stated in his broadcast analysis. "In the second period I judged them the dominant team, frequently exposing City in transition and finishing with two excellent Barnes strikes. 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.

Beginning last season, the Magpies have achieved eight wins, two draws and merely two losses at St James' Park versus elite Premier League opposition.

Yet in away matches, Newcastle have failed to win a Premier League game since April.

This clarifies why they sat merely one point above the drop zone before Saturday's crucial result.

"As much as I'd prefer to claim the crowd shouldn't influence on-field performance, it transforms everything," Howe acknowledged. "We need to identify methods to generate momentum in away matches without fan assistance.

"This is our challenge to address, whether via tactical modifications, roster decisions. Regardless of the approach, we need to commit to finding remedies."