Kevin de Bruyne. Photo: photosport
Manchester City's Kevin de Bruyne inspired a late comeback 3-2 victory for his side at Newcastle United on Sunday in his first Premier League action since the opening day of the season.
The Belgian midfielder has been missing since August because of a hamstring injury but came off the bench in the 69th minute with City trailing 2-1 to spark a remarkable turnaround.
De Bruyne equalised with a trademark silky finish five minutes after replacing Bernardo Silva and played the perfect pass in stoppage time for fellow substitute Oscar Bobb to secure the three points with his first Premier League goal.
City's players celebrated loudly at the final whistle as the victory took them up to second place, two points behind Liverpool with both sides having played 20 games.
Manager Pep Guardiola boasts an embarrassment of riches in City's squad but the 32-year-old De Bruyne proved yet again that he is simply irreplaceable and his return could not have come at a better time.
"I missed this. I had a big injury and I needed the time. I enjoyed myself," De Bruyne, who took Rodri's pass and threaded an inch-perfect shot past Dubravka for City's leveller, told TNT Sports.
"I think it was more willpower than anything else. It was crazy. I know I'm not able to do that for 90 minutes at the moment. I can put in a shift for 30 minutes at the moment. I feel it in my lungs, especially with the cold."
Bernardo Silva had given City a 26th-minute lead with a sublime back-heeled finish from Kyle Walker's low cross but Pep Guardiola's side were soon rocked back on their heels.
Alexander Isak curled in an equaliser in the 35th minute and Anthony Gordon sent the home fans wild with another high-quality finish past City keeper Stefan Ortega, who had replaced the injured Ederson in the fifth minute.
City missed a series of chances in the second half as Newcastle edged towards a morale-boosting victory, but the mercurial De Bruyne's arrival made all the difference.
They have 43 points to Liverpool's 45 while Newcastle's fourth successive defeat left them in 10th spot.
With City now set to enjoy a two-week break, Norwegian goal machine Erling Haaland could also be back from a foot injury by the time they play in the league again in another boost to their prospects of a fourth successive title.
Superb footwoork
The 20-year-old Bobb showed that City may have another Norwegian diamond in their ranks.
He displayed superb footwork to control De Bruyne's flighted pass and skip inside to beat Martin Dubravka for the winner.
"I said thank you to him after," Bobb said of De Bruyne's impact. "He's the only one in the world who could do that."
Struggling Newcastle had an early goal by Sean Longstaff ruled out for offside and were furious after City's opener, claiming that Gordon had been baulked by Ruben Dias at the other end of the pitch as he tried to sprint down the wing.
Their anger fuelled a stunning response with Isak latching on to Bruno Guimaraes's first-time pass and bending a shot past Ortega. City's high defensive line was exposed again when Gordon exacted revenge for his perceived injustice, turning Walker with ease and beating Ortega with a pinpoint finish.
Had Isak buried another chance shortly afterwards the outcome might have been different but Newcastle's season is now crumbling in alarming fashion.
"Their quality told in the end. De Bruyne is obviously a world-class player," Newcastle manager Eddie Howe said.
Chelsea beat Fulham
Chelsea beat their west London neighbours Fulham 1-0 on Sunday as a penalty by top scorer Cole Palmer earned the Blues their third Premier League win in a row, even if coach Mauricio Pochettino's men laboured in front of goal once again.
Cole Palmer Photo: photosport
Palmer sent Bernd Leno the wrong way with his spot kick in the dying moments of the first half after Raheem Sterling was brought down by Issa Diop's trailing foot.
It was Palmer's ninth league goal - two more than the Blues' top scorer over the entirety of last season - since joining from Manchester City as a last-minute summer signing and quickly establishing himself as Chelsea's most dangerous player.
He was criticised for missing several chances in Chelsea's 1-0 League Cup semi-final first leg defeat against Middlesbrough in midweek.
"After the game I was disappointed like anyone would be missing that many chances," Palmer told broadcaster TNT Sports. "You have those games and I've put it behind me and scored."
Fulham's best chance for an equaliser fell to Raul Jimenez whose shot forced Djordje Petrovic into a one-handed save in the 73rd minute. Petrovic had also denied Harry Wilson in the first half as the visitors tried to catch their hosts on the break.
Chelsea captain Conor Gallagher smacked the post with a shot from the outside of his boot in the 83rd minute but the final statistics showed the Blues had only three shots on target all game, a reminder of their woes in front of goal.
Armando Broja, only recently back in the side after an injury in the previous campaign, powered a header from an Enzo Fernandez cross just wide of the post in the 21st minute but was largely snuffed out by Fulham's defence.
With Nicolas Jackson on duty for Senegal at the Africa Cup of Nations and Christopher Nkunku injured again, Pochettino will need to find a way back to scoring in time for Middlesbrough's visit for the second leg of the League Cup semi-final on Jan. 23.
One of the biggest cheers of the afternoon went up when Ben Chilwell came off Chelsea's bench, marking the England defender's return from injury and potentially solving the Blue's left-back problem which centre half Levi Colwill has struggled to fix.
The win pushed Chelsea up two places in the league table to eighth, above Manchester United and Newcastle United who both have a game in hand.
Fulham, who have now lost five away games in the league in a row, remained 13th, eight points clear of the relegation zone.
Coach Marco Silva said Chelsea defender Malo Gusto should have been sent off for a foul on Willian in the first half.
"We have to talk about the red card for Gusto, it was clear. It is hard to see how things arenG��t consistent at the level that we're at," he told TNT.
- Reuters