It was another straightforward afternoon for Man City as they showed their class to overcome Newcastle 4-0 at St James’ Park.
Pep Guardiola had Joao Cancelo to thank as he provided an early assist for Ruben Dias before netting a stunning strike midway through the second half with Riyad Mahrez and Raheem Sterling adding icing onto the cake in the second half.
Whilst many expected a comfortable victory for the Premier League leaders, Newcastle did not help themselves by conceding a dreadful opener.
Oleksandr Zinchenko clipped a ball over the top of the defence and whilst Cancelo did well to reach the ball, he should not have registered an assist with centre-back Ciaran Clark allowing the ball to bounce over him, leaving Dias with the simple task of heading the ball in from less than six yards out.
Given the Toon Army’s current predicament it was the last thing manager Eddie Howe needed.
Speaking on talkSPORT, former Arsenal winger Perry Groves could not believe what he had seen.
“Ciaran Clark, you’re a centre-half, you head the ball, you get it away then you have a row with your goalkeeper,” Perry said.
“Obviously there is not enough communication because if there is, [Martin] Dubravka would be screaming at him and he would just come and pick it up.
“I was going to say it’s schoolboy defending, but that’s harsh on some schoolboys, I think a schoolboy would have headed that away.”
Nevertheless, the score line did not flatter City who flexed their muscles again midway through the first half.
Not closed down, Cancelo ran through the heart of Newcastle’s midfield and unleashed a stunning right-footed effort into the top left corner of the goal.
2-0 at half-time, the game was effectively over and even though the Toon Army made it slightly tougher for City to get through them in the second half, Mahrez ensured that the score line was given more gloss.
The Algerian forward slotted in from less than ten yards out before Sterling netted his 101st Premier League goal by tapping in in the last minutes of the match.
Regardless of Liverpool’s result against Tottenham, City will spend Christmas top of the table and in years gone by will mean that they could be lifting the title again.
Newcastle though are a long way from reaching the same heights and cannot wait for 1 January to bring in some much needed signings.