Put aside any doubts, ‘cos there ain’t no stopping them.
Manchester City were back to their best when they took on Newcastle United and showed no signs of any kind of rustiness after suffering their first league defeat of the season against Liverpool last week.
Benitez’s side conceded possession and though his team did pull one goal back in the second half, Manchester City were at their dominating best against the Magpies. Newcastle deployed a five-man defence and though it took the Sky Blues some time to break through, they cruised their way towards three points later.
Manchester City player ratings
Éderson: 6/10
Hardly had anything to do and could have done little to save the goal that went in. Otherwise, he was not reluctant to come out and put in a decent performance.
Kyle Walker: 7/10
Strong and quick, Walker was industrious at both ends of the pitch. He used his speed to good effect and pushed City ahead.
John Stones: 6/10
Handled some attacking moves by making some trademark interceptions. Looked a bit shaky and it might take the lad some time to get over his horror performance against Liverpool.
Nicolas Otamendi: 7.5/10
Better, of the two defenders as he used his strength and positional awareness to thwart off any attacks from near the box. Played a few smashing diagonal passes as well.
Oleksandr Zinchenko: 7/10
An impressive use of the start given to him by Pep Guardiola. The Ukrainian was a lively presence down the left flank and made some good runs to the other half.
Fernandinho: 7.5/10
Shielded the defence and drove the team forward with his incessant running and accurate passing. Played some intricate one-twos with the wingers and was the focal point of attacks through the centre.
David Silva: 7/10
Provided the guile with his running and off the ball positing that City dearly missed in the recent games. Silva was at his elegant best and made some precise passes into the box.
Kevin de Bruyne: 8/10
Omnipresent in the field. The Belgian ran the show at Etihad and initiated attacks, created chances, helped his defence as well as showed his set-piece prowess by delivering some intricate crosses into the box.
Leroy Sane: 8/10
The German used his quick feet, amazing skills and passing range to defy the Newcastle defenders. His piece of footwork for Aguero’s goal was a sheer demonstration of his attacking prowess.
Raheem Sterling: 7/10
Sterling provided the width, often cut in and tried to take a fair shot on goal at times. Had a goal disallowed early in the first half.
Sergio Aguero: 10/10
A perfect hat-trick for the Argentine as he against showed his class and quality against an opposition he loves to play against. Aguero was on target thrice and scored with his head, left and right foot too. Deserves all the praise and plaudits.
Substitutes
Bernardo Silva: N.A
Came in for Raheem Sterling in the 86th minute.
Brahim Diaz: N.A
Came in for Leroy Sane in the 87th minute.