Alan Shearer praises one Newcastle United player after ‘terrific’ display vs Manchester City

Written on Monday, 24 November 2025
Olly Dawes

Newcastle United beat Manchester City on Saturday evening as Harvey Barnes took down Pep Guardiola’s side.

Newcastle United are struggling on the road this season, but St James’ Park remains a fortress for Eddie Howe.

The Magpies beat Manchester City 2-1 on Saturday evening, racking up a sixth straight home victory.

Harvey Barnes fired Newcastle in front before Ruben Dias quickly brought City back level.

A crazy period saw Newcastle almost instantly go back in front, as Barnes scored from close range to seal a 2-1 Magpies win.

Who was your Newcastle United MOTM against Manchester City?

Alan Shearer praises Newcastle United’s Harvey Barnes

Newcastle’s 3-1 defeat at Brentford before the international break saw Barnes find the net, and he was back on the scoresheet again on Saturday.

Barnes could, and arguably should, have scored in the first half, missing from just six yards out after being picked out by Jacob Murphy.

The wide man didn’t allow that moment to deter him, though, as he found the back of the City net twice in the second half.

Alan Shearer has offered his praise to Barnes while speaking on Premier League Productions (22/11).

Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images

Shearer admitted that he loved how Barnes didn’t hide after missing that first-half chance and kept putting himself in positions to score.

Shearer praised Barnes for a ‘terrific’ display, hailing his work rate as well as the constant threat he provided.

“I thought he gave the full-back a really difficult game,” said Shearer.

“Obviously, he missed an absolute sitter, but the part I like about that is… a lot of players would then go and hide. He actually put the most difficult one away, and it was a brilliant finish.

“I was impressed with his performance, not only his goals, but his work rate and the way he went past the full-back, the way he tried to get balls in, and he was a constant out for Newcastle as well as his hard work, so I thought it was a terrific performance from him,” he added.

What Eddie Howe and the pundits said about Newcastle United’s statement win over Manchester City.

Eddie Howe: “The performance from the team was there, the hunger was there, the motivation was there. That’s the key thing we have to take forward. I think if those qualities are there, with our delivery and the players that we have, we can beat anybody.” 

Alan Shearer: “If Newcastle had their shooting boots on, they should have scored six or seven – they missed four absolute sitters.” 

Jamie Redknapp: “When you have a blue-chip win like today, it shows you can compete. It shows you’ve got the players to compete and go toe-to-toe.” 

Harvey Barnes on his first-half miss in Newcastle United win

Barnes accepted that he needed to make amends after his first-half miss.

Speaking to BBC Sport, Barnes suggested that he may not have been the most popular player with fans inside St James’ Park.

Barnes didn’t shrink, though, and stepped up with two big moments to hand Newcastle all three points.

“It feels great [to be the matchwinner]. I don’t think I was the most popular man at halftime,” said Barnes.

“Glad to make up for it in the second half with a couple of good goals and it was a great win for us. Hopefully, after today’s result, we can kick on and go on a good run,” he added.

Anthony Gordon’s form has been a real frustration this season, but his injury has opened up a chance for Barnes to shine.

Barnes is seizing that chance right now, and he will look to continue his strong run against Marseille in midweek.

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