City's unexpected hero: O'Reilly's brace kills Magpies as their Etihad curse lives on

Over the years, the public grew accustomed to Pep Guardiola's occasional lineup changes and player position swaps. However, one thing was always the same - Manchester City strikers were primarily in charge of goals.

Nevertheless, last night was an exception, as the Cityzens' goal scorers took the role of assist providers, while their defender Nico O'Reilly replaced them in front of Newcastle's goal, bagging a first-half brace and bringing his team a vital victory (2-1), which reduced Arsenal's advantage at the top of the Premier League table to only two points.

The 20-year-old's opener came in the 14th minute after a quick counter, Omar Marmoush's assist, and O'Reilly's powerful, but precise strike from the edge of the box. Thirteen minutes later, Erling Haaland crossed the ball into the Magpies' area from the right-hand side area, finding the defender, whose header was unstoppable for the visitors' custodian Nick Pope.

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n the meantime, another defensive player, this time Newcastle's Lewis Hall, scored a leveller, bringing the away fans a brief joy. In the final minutes of the first half, the Magpies were close to another equalizer, but Dan Burn's goal was disallowed for offside.

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Following the opening period full of fireworks, the crowd at Etihad Stadium hoped for more of the same, but alas, the rhythm was much slower. Guardiola's men were more cautious, refusing to bottle the lead, while Newcastle's slight dominance did not bring them many chances.

In the end, the club from the East of England suffered its third consecutive loss to the Cityzens in the two teams' fourth clash of the season. The last time they avoided defeat at Etihad was in October 2014, and last night's failure was their 13th in a row on City's home ground.

Newcastle's Etihad curse continues to live on.

PREMIER LEAGUE - MATCHDAY 27

Saturday

Aston Villa - Leeds 1-1 (0-1)

/Abraham 88 - Stach 31/

Brentford - Brighton 0-2 (0-2)

/Gomez 30, Welbeck 45+1/

Chelsea - Burnley 1-1 (1-0)

/Pedro 4 - Flemming 90+3/

West Ham - Bournemouth 0-0

Manchester City - Newcastle 2-1 (2-1)

/O'Reilly 14, 27 - Hall 22/

Sunday

17.00: (1.63) Crystal Palace (3.80) Wolverhampton (5.70)

17.00: (4.20) Nott.Forest (4.00) Liverpool (1.85)

17.00: (2.70) Sunderland (3.25) Fulham (2.80)

19.30: (6.25) Tottenham (4.10) Arsenal (1.60)

Monday

23.00: (3.80) Everton (3.70) Man.Utd. (2.00)

***odds are subject to change***