English Football
Torres scores hat-trick as Man City defeat Newcastle in seven-goal thriller
Manchester City twice came from behind to win a Premier League classic against Newcastle in their first game since being confirmed as champions.
Ferran Torres scored a hat-trick for City and his superb backheeled finish was the highlight of a remarkable game that swung back and forth.
Pep Guardiola, who surprisingly selected Scott Carson in goal – almost a decade on from his last English top-flight game – saw his City side dominate early on but fall behind to Emil Krafth’s powerful header from Jonjo Shelvey’s corner.
Joao Cancelo equalised with a deflected effort into the bottom right corner and when Torres expertly turned home Ilkay Gundogan’s free-kick 185 seconds later it looked as though the visitors could cut loose.
Man of the match Torres had the final word, guiding Gabriel Jesus’ cross into the top right corner and then becoming the youngest player to score a league hat-trick for a Guardiola team, when turning in a Cancelo shot that bounced back off the Newcastle post.
It rounded off a captivating encounter and brought up another milestone for Guardiola’s side, who set a new league record with their 12th consecutive victory away from home.
Bruce’s side delivered a wonderful performance in their win at Leicester a week ago, but playing against the newly crowned champions represented a sizable step up in class.
And if the complement of players at Guardiola’s disposal was not already a concern, their assignment was made more challenging by the absence of the injured Callum Wilson.
Newcastle have not won any of the nine matches in which their England forward has missed this season but the manner in which they pushed a City side who are 13 points clear at the top of the table offers plenty of encouragement.
Wilson’s understudy, Joelinton, who has underwhelmed since his club-record move in 2019, gave Ake and his defensive partner Eric Garcia plenty of problems.
And the supporting cast of Willock, Miguel Almiron and Saint-Maximin caused City problems down the flanks.
The on-loan Arsenal player surprised Raheem Sterling with this pace in the first half and his acceleration caught Walker out to give the Magpies their second penalty of the evening.
While City’s class eventually told, it was not before they had been put under severe pressure by a side that a few weeks previous were in the relegation conversation.
How every Premier League manager must wish to have the depth of talent that City boss Guardiola has in his ranks.
The sight of Riyad Mahrez, Phil Foden and Ruben Dias sitting in the stand served as a reminder of that depth, with the champions also travelling north with Ederson, Sergio Aguero and Kevin de Bruyne.
In their absence, dogged opponents provided a reminder of just how demanding the Premier League can be but they more than merited their win.
With the EFL Cup and Premier League already secure City had the luxury of using their final three matches to prepare for their Champions League final against Chelsea on 29 May.
But while there was a touch of sentimentality around giving Carson his first taste of Premier League football since 22 May 2011, the way in which Guardiola urged his team to maintain their standards spoke volumes.
He looked far from happy at the way in which his side conceded at least two of the goals but also appeared delighted by the way that Torres came to the fore.
In a squad containing so much firepower, the 21-year-old has at times looked on the periphery since his move from Valencia – starting just 14 times.
And if this was a glimpse of the Spain winger at his best their will be a number of clubs concerned by what he is capable of, given an extended run.
