No goal since 2022 

©IMAGO

Manchester City closed the gap to Arsenal to just two points at the top of the Premier League with a 2-1 win over Newcastle United at the Etihad Stadium. Pep Guardiola had said his team needed to do “much better” to have any chance of catching his former understudy Mikel Arteta, whose Gunners were held to a 2-2 draw by Wolves on Thursday. And while Erling Haaland failed to find the target, Nico O’Reilly took Guardiola’s message on board.

The left-back – playing in midfield – delivered an unexpected brace to guide the home side to victory. Lewis Hall’s deflected effort had brought Newcastle level but only for five minutes as O’Reilly’s 27th-minute header proved to be the winner. Haaland once again failed to score against Newcastle, although the Norwegian did play his part, assisting O’Reilly’s second to register his sixth assist this season.

Haaland’s North East hoodoo

Haaland is a bona fide goal machine, perhaps the most lethal the English football has ever witnessed. The striker’s powerful frame, blistering pace and deadly finishing make him a nightmare for any defender to try and limit his influence in front of goal. Yet when it comes to Newcastle and Sunderland, clubs hailing from the North East of England, Haaland has endured a bizarre dry spell like no other. His latest blank means he has now gone nine games without scoring against the Magpies in all competitions and six in the league.

In fact, Haaland has scored against 23 of their 24 opposing teams he has faced in the Premier League. As the graphic above details, 19 of those teams are currently in the top flight – but Sunderland are the only side not to concede against the big Norwegian. He did manage to find the back of the net against Newcastle in the 3-3 draw back in August 2022.

This is a striker who has 107 goals in 124 league matches since arriving from Borussia Dortmund in July 2022 and already has racked up 22 in the current domestic campaign. So to have such an anomalous record against one club – or two from the same region – is mystifying. The credit must go to Regis Le Bris and Eddie Howe, with the latter using his physical defenders such as Dan Burn and Malick Thiaw to nullify his goalscoring threat.

Another chance for Haaland

It’s now been three and a half years since Haaland last found the net against Newcastle and the Toon will be at least happy to have kept him at bay, despite coming away from Manchester with no points to bring back to Tyneside. Haaland will get another chance to get on the scoresheet when the two clubs meet in the FA Cup fifth round.

As for City, the result means that if they win their remaining 12 games this season, Guardiola’s men will clinch the league title for a seventh time under the Catalan. However, they still face Arsenal at the Etihad on April 18, 2026 in what will prove to be a fascinating matchup between two world-class coaches and teams.