Newcastle boss Eddie Howe says Magpies ‘deserved’ draw after ‘rollercoaster’ Man City clash
- Seb Sternik
- 21 August 2022
Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe has praised his players following a scintillating 3-3 draw against defending Premier League champions Manchester City.
The Magpies led 3-1 with half-an-hour remaining, yet the Citizens found a way back to earn a point away at St James' Park.
Ilkay Gundogan opened the scoring in the fifth minute, before the hosts responded with two first-half goals from Miguel Almiron and Callum Wilson.
Kieran Trippier added a third in the 54th minute, but it was goals from Erling Haaland and Bernardo Silva which completed a thrilling 3-3 draw.
After the full-time whistle, Newcastle boss Eddie Howe told Sky Sports: "It was an incredible game, a rollercoaster of emotions.
"We were 1-0 down and that's the worst possible start against this team because then you have to chase the game and potentially you leave open spaces, but I thought the players responded brilliantly to that.
"We scored some great goals today, I was absolutely delighted with the effort and commitment and everything the players gave.
"I'm sure for the neutrals it was an incredible game, but for us as managers you're torn because we were 3-1 up and you're desperate to win, but we needed something from the game and I think the players deserved that."
Manchester City weren't ready for Newcastle 😰 pic.twitter.com/vIgi497Cbp
— GOAL (@goal) August 21, 2022
Howe added: "We knew it was going to be a difficult end to the game for us purely from the quality of their decision-making on the ball, they don't give you a rest, and that's where our concentration has to be very good and we just switched off for a couple of moments and we got punished.
"We're also indebted to Nick Pope because he made a number of good saves as well. We rode our luck a little bit in the latter stages of the game, but we also had our moments the other way and I thought we were a constant threat.
"I think we've shown we're capable when we turn up and give our best physically. We had the crowd with us today and that's a huge force, but we need to do that home and away."
