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Eddie Howe had exhausted all options.

Newcastle's manager had experimented with high-pressing tactics against City. He fielded others who adopted deeper defensive positions. He experimented with multiple formations, all without positive results.

Howe was barely exaggerating when he said "we've tried everything" ahead of the weekend fixture.

Yet he found an answer.

When Newcastle desperately needed a positive result, following a difficult loss at Brentford before the international break, Howe and his team devised a tactical plan to secure their first victory against Manchester City.

The strategy paid dividends with a 2-1 win in front of a passionate home crowd giving Howe his maiden win over Guardiola's Manchester City in league competition.

"I've got lists and lists of things that haven't worked against them so I could probably tell you what doesn't," Howe revealed. "Telling you what does is a very small piece of paper, but you just try and learn from experience and just tweak something the next time. That was our methodology."

'I don't believe in radical overhauls'

Planning commenced in the aftermath of their Brentford setback.

Howe dedicated countless hours analyzing match footage, reviewing training sessions and seeking solutions to what has been an inconsistent campaign.

Although working with a reduced training group, Newcastle focused on rediscovering "their energy and athleticism" during the international break.

Some significant tactical changes were introduced against Manchester City.

Captain Bruno Guimaraes was assigned a central role in the midfield three, where Sandro Tonali had been positioned for most of the past year, as full-backs Lewis Hall and Tino Livramento began a match together for the first time in months and proved highly influential.

Fabian Schar also made his first top-flight start in two months, replacing centre-back Sven Botman.

However, rather than implementing radical changes, Howe maintained his preferred 4-3-3 system with two of the three lineup changes being necessitated by injuries to Kieran Trippier and Anthony Gordon.

The majority of players who featured at Brentford and, indeed, in the damaging defeat at West Ham, were given opportunities to redeem themselves.

"I don't support the idea of tearing everything down," Howe emphasized. "Unless you're in absolute panic mode, which we're not, and I don't believe in that style of leadership anyway.

"I believe I have a clear understanding of our strongest players and I want to provide them every opportunity to demonstrate their qualities by supporting them and facilitating their growth."

Barnes Delivers When It Matters

However, transformation was undoubtedly required.

Only the struggling offenses of Wolves and Leeds had produced fewer goals than Newcastle this season.

New signing Nick Woltemade had seemed detached, with minimal attacking supply, particularly away from home.

Although Woltemade was away with Germany during the international break, Newcastle worked on different movements of players around the forward including Barnes and Jacob Murphy, to enhance his performance when he rejoined the team.

Newcastle certainly created opportunities for Woltemade on Saturday, who was denied on three occasions by Manchester City goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma.

Although Newcastle had become too Woltemade-focused, other attackers have emerged as reliable options.

Notably Barnes.

The attacker squandered important chances in the opening period - including missing an empty net - and confessed he wasn't "the fan favorite" during the break.

However, Barnes not only broke the deadlock with a superb strike from distance after halftime, he secured victory moments after City leveled through Ruben Dias.

The Magpies had held advantages against Arsenal, Brentford and West Ham but ended up defeated.

But they didn't collapse when Manchester City equalized or, indeed, after eight minutes of stoppage time were added.

The match featured Newcastle outperforming City in defensive statistics, including tackles, headers and blocks.

While City dominated the ball, inevitably skewing the numbers, Newcastle defended resolutely with 36 clearances and limited City to only four accurate shots.

This defensive effort was praised by former Magpies defender Jonathan Woodgate.

"Without the ball they were magnificent, complicating City's efforts to penetrate defensive lines," he commented during radio coverage. "Second half I considered them the superior team, consistently catching City on counter-attacks and ultimately scoring two magnificent goals by Barnes. What a spectacular game."

St James' Stronghold

Nevertheless, is this outcome at a vibrant St James' Park truly astonishing?

Only Manchester City (13) have won more Premier League home games than Howe's team (11) in 2025.

Since the beginning of last season, Newcastle have won eight, drawn two and lost just two of their home fixtures against Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester United and Tottenham across all competitions.

However, away from home, Newcastle haven't triumphed in the top flight since April.

This accounts for their position just one point clear of the bottom three prior to Saturday's important win.

"While I'd like to assert that supporters shouldn't affect player performance, it completely changes dynamics," Howe conceded. "We need to identify methods to generate momentum in away matches without fan assistance.

"That's our responsibility to resolve, whether through system adjustments, personnel changes. Whatever the solution, we must work diligently to find answers."