Man City player ratings vs Newcastle with one 9/10 as Nico O'Reilly stars

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Manchester City player ratings from the Manchester Evening News for their 2-1 win over Newcastle in the Premier League

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22:00, 21 Feb 2026

Manchester City held on to beat Newcastle at the Etihad and pile the pressure on Arsenal. Pep Guardiola's side are just two points off the top of the Premier League table ahead of the North London derby after a gritty 2-1 win at the Etihad.

World Cup hopeful Nico O'Reilly got them in front early on when he blasted past Nick Pope from the edge of the box following a slick City move. Lewis Hall's shot deflected in off Rayan Ait-Nouri to level the game but O'Reilly headed in an Erling Haaland cross to get City back in front.

The home team could not add to their lead in a nervy second half but did enough to keep Newcastle at bay and pick up what felt like a big three points. Here are the player ratings from the Manchester Evening News.

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Donnarumma: Some solid saves but he looked shaky from set-pieces for most of the night and was saved by the offside flag when Burn beat him. 6

Nunes: A fairly quiet night for Nunes, doing well most of the time with Gordon but occasionally losing his man. 7

Dias: Booked after being outpaced by Gordon and got away with shoving Burn into an offside position before being taken off at half-time. 6

Guehi: Kept his cool at set-pieces and also waited for the right pass when building with the ball. 7

Ait-Nouri: Encouraging again going forward and some steel defensively to block off Elanga - should have played in Haaland to make the game safe though. 7

Rodri: Dropped deep to help the defence and make sure they were not overrun by Newcastle's pace up front. 7

Silva: Always in the right place to receive the ball to move City up the pitch, and never shirked a duel even when he was up against Burn. 7

O'Reilly: Two goals, at least three positions and an engine that never stopped all night. A matchwinning performance. 9

Semenyo: Some bright touches that drove City up the pitch, and some loose ones that cost them ground. 7

Marmoush: A good assist for O'Reilly and his direct running caused Newcastle problems but he was offside too often. 6

Haaland: An all-action performance leading the line, with an assist, lots of good play, defensive work, and the best of a physical battle with Burn. 8

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Substitutes

Khusanov (for Dias, 46) His pace was needed and he didn't put a foot wrong to see out the win. 7

Cherki (for Marmoush, 58) Good at playing passes through the lines but also keeping hold of it to take the sting out of the game. 7

Foden (for Semenyo, 86) No time.

Not used: Trafford, Lewis, Stones, Reijnders, Gonzalez, Savinho,

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