Micah Richards and Alan Shearer's heated argument over Man City drama at Newcastle

Man City suffered a 2-1 loss to Newcastle at St James' Park on Saturday and the game wasn't without its fair share of drama with a number of decisions going against the Blues.

Alan Shearer and Micah Richards have clashed over Newcastle United's 2-1 win over Manchester City.

Newcastle secured all three points from their match with Pep Guardiola's high-flying Blues at St James' Park on Saturday night, owing to goals from Harvey Barnes either side of Ruben Dias' effort. However, some football enthusiasts might argue that City were hard done by during the match, with several key decisions going against them.

Phil Foden appeared to have a case for a penalty early on in the contest- when he was knocked down by Fabian Schar in Newcastle's box after firing a shot at Nick Pope's goal. Nevertheless, VAR swiftly dismissed any possibility of a penalty being awarded, finding no fault with the challenge.

Shortly afterwards, City thought they had another claim for a penalty, this time due to Jeremy Doku's shot hitting the raised hand of Malick Thiaw. The decision on the pitch not to award a penalty was - once again - supported by VAR and the match continued without a goal.

During the latest episode of The Rest Is Football, Richards felt aggrieved while Shearer saw no issue with the two major flashpoints. Gary Lineker initiated the segment with: "Bit lucky with a couple of decisions?" to which Shearer responded: "No. How can you get lucky? With what?"

Former City star Richards then argued: "I think the Thiaw one was a definite handball. You can't do that in front of your..." before Shearer shut him down with: "He didn't do that, he had it at his side. Get off with you, what's up with you?"

Refusing to back down, Richards then responded: "Your sides there, he went like that Alan. The Phil Foden one..."

Lineker then intervened to break up the disagreement by siding with Richards, adding: "I thought that the Phil Foden one was a dangerous challenge, though. I thought that was a penalty, personally. Anywhere else on the pitch, that's a foul. Once you move the ball and then you get clobbered, that's a foul."

While Shearer conceded he wouldn't have disputed a penalty for the Foden incident, he maintained his position that fortune played no part in the outcome. He added: "If he gives a penalty, you come back and say; 'Okay, fine I get it. I understand it'.

"But I think because he's got his shot away first, I think that's why the referee didn't give it. I wouldn't say they got away with a couple of decisions."

When Richards raised Thiaw's potential handball once more, Lineker then launched into a brief criticism of the rule itself, explaining: "Well the handball law's a joke anyway. Nothing like that should never be a handball, but it is now.

"If it's slightly out, or slightly this side or slightly other. They've got to go back to; 'Is it deliberate or not?' Now nine times out of 10, handball's not deliberate, your arms are in that position. But you can work out when it's an obvious penalty or not."

Meanwhile, Shearer took issue with Guardiola's post-match complaints about the officiating, suggesting that City's boss ought to focus on his side's defensive frailties, which enabled Newcastle to carve out numerous opportunities and secure victory.

He added: "I know Pep wasn't too happy with one or two decisions after the game, but I would be more worried about his team defensively rather than anything if I was Pep, because the number of chances Newcastle created. But from a Newcastle point of view, I thought they were absolutely outstanding.

"The two full-backs, [Tino] Livramento and [Lewis] Hall coming in and gave them much better balance, and much more energy about their game. Midfield was much better, back to being tough and hard to play against. [Sandro] Tonali, I thought, was outstanding, Malick Thiaw, I thought, was brilliant. And obviously Harvey Barnes getting his goals, so it was back to being a Newcastle what we've become used to."

City will hope to iron out any bad habits before they face Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League on Tuesday evening. They then return to Premier League action to take on Leeds United at the Etihad Stadium.