Manchester City 2-1 Newcastle United result – Pep Guardiola's side cut Arsenal's lead at the summit of the Premier League to two points

Nico O’Reilly scored twice as Manchester City closed the gap on Arsenal before tomorrow’s North London derby.

Pep Guardiola's side made a brilliant start to the match, controlling the ball and looking to get forward at every opportunity in the early exchanges.

And they took the lead after just 14 minutes, with Omar Marmoush playing a great pass through to Nico O’Reilly who, despite having the option to lay the ball off to Erling Haaland, opted to take the shot on himself and rifled home past Nick Pope.

Newcastle responded well to going behind and had their equaliser less than 10 minutes later. A corner was sent in which was only half-cleared by City. Jacob Ramsay was then able to poke the ball to Lewis Hall on the edge of the box, who struck a low effort which took a wicked deflection off Rayan Ait-Nouri to take it away from Gianluigi Donnarumma.

The match wasn’t level for long though, with O’Reilly once again putting his side ahead. Haalan turned provider on the right-hand side, sending in a superb ball and O’Reilly was on hand to power his header back across goal past Pope.

Eddie Howe’s side thought they had another equaliser when Dan Burn rose highest to head home a Sandro Tonali delivery, only for the flag to go up for offside.

City struggled to get going in the second half, giving the ball away cheaply and struggling to create clear chances in the final third. In an almost role-reverse to the first half, it was Newcastle who began to dominate possession and it was City who were looking to play on the counter-attack.

The hosts had a huge chance to put the game beyond Newcastle with 10 minutes to go when Ait-Nouri was released down the left-hand side with nothing but green grass to run into. The Algerian drove into the box and had either the goal to aim for or Haaland to play in on the right-hand side but instead did neither, managing only to take a poor touch and lose the ball at the vital moment.

Late substitute Phil Foden also had a huge chance to put City 3-1 up, firing an effort on goal from close range, but Pope was equal to it, pulling off a superb save with his legs.

When the final whistle went, it was evident from Guardiola's celebration that this felt like a significant victory in the title race. City were not perfect but got the result over the line, with this their fifth consecutive victory across all competitions, and one that takes them that bit closer to Arsenal at the summit of the Premier League.

Joe Cole told TNT Sports: "I've been in that situation when you've got a big game the next day. You know you need to win anyway, but you're all watching it in the hotel. It's a bit deflating as they'd have thought Newcastle could have got something in the last 10 minutes.

"It's a proper title race. A few months ago, I thought this was going to be Arsenal's all the way and it would be finished in April. But this is the first time I've looked at the spine of Manchester City's team - [Gianluigi] Donnarumma, Marc Guehi, Rodri, [Antoine] Semenyo, [Erling] Haaland. They look like men who are right up for it.

"This place was lively tonight so you can't see them dropping too many points. Arsenal are going to have to be brilliant between now and the end of the season."

Joe Cole told TNT Sports: "Sometimes, winning like this feels better. When you have to show spirit, heart and minerals to get a result. You saw Pep Guardiola around the pitch at full-time, and you could tell this meant something to this team.

"If you're Arsenal, you're sitting in a hotel and it's now over to them. That's what this title race is all about. They've have looked at the last five or 10 minutes of this game thinking, 'this would really puncture Man City if Newcastle nick a draw', which could have happened. Haaland was outstanding in both boxes, Marc Guehi looks like he's been here for decades, not weeks, and the title race is well and truly on."

TNT Sports pundit Joleon Lescott: It (the result) sends out a huge message to Arsenal, more than just closing the gap to two points. The way they showed character in the second half especially, they showed that they can not just outscore teams and put teams to bed through three, four-goal deficits. They can be resilient and grind out results when it's tight, so I think it sends a different message going forward."

Speaking to TNT Sports, Nico O'Reilly had this to say:

"I'm over the moon. The win was the most important thing, closing the gap and applying as much pressure as possible, and also I'm very happy with the two goals. It's a dream of mine to win something like this. There's still a lot of games to go, so it's about taking each game as it comes. I'm enjoying every moment. We always believe we can win games. We had a week's break, so we could prepare for this game very well, we just need to keep going."

Manchester City 2-1 Newcastle United

Nico O'Reilly's brace earns City all three points at the Etihad, cutting Arsenal's lead at the top of the Premier League to just two points ahead of the North London derby tomorrow.

Barnes' effort is deflected behind for a corner. One last chance for Newcastle!

Phil Foden fires an effort on goal from close-range but Pope makes a smart save to keep the scoreline at 2-1.

There will be a minimum of four additional minutes.

Joelinton is booked for a foul on Rodri.

Phil Foden is on for Antoine Semenyo.

Ait-Nouri is played through on the left-hand side with nothing but green grass to run into, he drives into the box with either the goal to aim for or Haaland to play in on the right-hand side but instead does neither, instead he takes a poor touch and loses the ball.

Will Osula and Jacob Murphy are on for Anthony Gordon and Anthony Elanga.

The crowd inside the Etihad sound tense and nervous as we enter the final 15 minutes of this one.

The visitors have been asking all the questions in the last 10 minutes or so. City just haven't got going in this second half.

Anthony Elanga drives forward on the break for Newcastle, Anthony Gordon makes a terrific run but Elanga takes too long and Gordon ends up in an offside position. He does not look happy at all that the ball didn't come.