Player ratings and comments from Newcastle's 1-0 win vs Man City - 9/10, 8/10, 7/10s

What a result at St. James Park on Wednesday night, as Newcastle beat the European Champions and Eddie Howe finally broke his hoodoo against Pep Guardiola after 14 attempts. We were a completely different team in the second half, bringing intensity, quality and resilience against a City side that had no answers. Here's my ratings from a superb evening under the lights:

Nick Pope - 7 - Made one big save in the first half to keep us in the game, blocking Alvarez's low shot with is outstretched leg. Distribution was shaky at times and keeps us on our toes.

Tino Livramento - 9* - Absolutely unreal performance considering it’s his first start of the season and hasn’t seen much football at all in recent years. Kept Jack Grealish silent all the game which is no easy feet. Made eight tackles which summed up a brilliant performance. Looked lively going forward also and will be very effective against weaker sides.

Jamaal Lascelles - 8.5 - Rock solid and must be given enormous credit coming into the side from the cold. Led the side brilliantly and passed the ball with confidence which was great to see. Won all of his aerial duels and made seven clearances. Brilliant performance from a consummate professional. I've marked him just above Dummett as it was his cutting pass that found Murphy in the build up to our winner.

Paul Dummett - 8 - Really solid performance from the Geordie defender against the best club side in the world. Looked absolutely knackered in the second half and was substituted because of cramp. Dealt with the City attack really well, made one brilliant clearance and an unbelievable tackle on Grealish in the first half to deny them a clear goal scoring opportunity.

Matt Targett - 7.5 - Another solid showing from Targett who looked really up for the game from the off. Extremely combative in the tackle and held his position really well.

Sandro Tonali - 7 - Struggled first half playing in the number six position but excelled in the second when he got pushed further up the pitch. So aggressive and potent in the tackle which was brilliant. Didn’t show too much quality on the ball but the best is definitely yet to come from our Italian maestro. Made some big blocks in the first half to stop some long range City strikes.

Lewis Miley - 5 - Really struggled to get up to pace in the first half and was a bit of a bystander during the game. Lost possession a few times but he will learn from this experience. Understandably and correctly substituted for the second half. Should be proud of himself competing with some elite players and he will only grow and improve in the coming years.

Lewis Hall - 6 - Looked sharp in areas, in particular a great pass through to Isak in the first half. Got caught a few times and played a really bad back pass to Pope which could’ve led to some danger. Taken off at half time as obviously lacking match sharpness and we desperately needed some experience on the pitch.

Jacob Murphy - 7 - Full of energy all evening but missed a huge chance in the first half one on one with Ortega, should’ve scored. Really direct and lively in the second half causing City some big problems down their left hand side.

Alexander Isak - 7.5 - Really quiet in the first half other than his brilliant pass through to Murphy. Took his goal beautifully in the second half with a really composed finish into the roof of the net. Had to come off just after the hour with what looked like fatigue from rallying up the crowd for the whole of the second half.

Joelinton - 8.5 - Absolutely bossed the left-hand sie of the pitch against elite opposition. Got the assist for the Isak goal with a smart drill across the box. Won 10 duels in midfield, made five tackles and a key interception releasing Murphy for his huge chance in the first half. Excellent performance from the Brazilian coming back from injury.

Substitutes:

Anthony Gordon - 8 - Another excellent substitute appearance. Direct with his running and looked absolutely razor sharp. Had Rico Lewis on toast and caused absolute havoc at the back for City. His pressing and relentless energy is infectious around the team. First name on the team sheet for Saturday.

Bruno Guimaraes - 8 - Back to his best. Stamped his authority on the game immediately, dictating the tempo of our play, giving and going and breaking Man City's press superbly. Looked really up for it straight away and demonstrated why he is so integral to what we do as a side. World class.

Miguel Almiron - 6 - Quiet offensively but put a huge shift in defensively making some big tackles and interceptions.

Fabian Schar - N/A

Elliot Anderson - N/A