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Eddie Howe had exhausted all options.

Newcastle's manager had experimented with high-pressing tactics against City. He tried alternative approaches with teams that dropped deeper. He experimented with multiple formations, all without positive results.

Howe was barely exaggerating when he said "we've tried everything" ahead of the weekend fixture.

But he discovered a solution.

Following a bruising loss at Brentford, the Magpies urgently needed to bounce back, The Newcastle management created a blueprint to finally defeat Guardiola's team.

Their approach worked perfectly, resulting in a 2-1 triumph at a vibrant St James' Park giving Howe his maiden win over Guardiola's Manchester City in league competition.

"I have extensive documentation of unsuccessful approaches against them, so I know what to avoid," Howe revealed. "Telling you what does is a very small piece of paper, but you just try and learn from experience and just tweak something the next time. That's what we did."

'Strategic evolution over revolution'

The groundwork began after Newcastle's recent 3-1 loss at Brentford.

Howe dedicated countless hours analyzing match footage, reviewing training sessions and seeking solutions to what has been an inconsistent campaign.

With a smaller squad during the international period, the team worked on restoring "their vitality and movement".

Some significant tactical changes were introduced against Manchester City.

Captain Bruno Guimaraes was assigned a central role in the midfield three, where Sandro Tonali had been positioned for most of the past year, as full-backs Lewis Hall and Tino Livramento began a match together for the first time in months and proved highly influential.

Fabian Schar returned to the starting lineup for the first time in two months, taking Sven Botman's position.

Nonetheless, instead of making sweeping alterations, Howe stuck with his favored 4-3-3 formation and two of the three modifications to his starting lineup were essentially forced after Kieran Trippier and Anthony Gordon missed out through injury.

The majority of players who featured at Brentford and, indeed, in the damaging defeat at West Ham, were given opportunities to redeem themselves.

"I'm against making wholesale changes," Howe declared. "Unless you're in absolute panic mode, which we're not, and I don't believe in that style of leadership anyway.

"I'm confident in identifying our best performers and aim to give them maximum chances to showcase their abilities by assisting them and encouraging their progress."

Barnes Steps Up Crucial Moments

Nevertheless, adjustments were clearly necessary.

Only struggling Wolves and Leeds United had scored fewer goals than Newcastle in the top flight before this match.

High-profile acquisition Nick Woltemade had looked disconnected, receiving inadequate support, especially on the road.

Despite Woltemade's absence with the German national team, the squad developed new supporting movements for their forward featuring Barnes and Jacob Murphy, to optimize his contribution after his international commitment.

Newcastle manufactured several scoring opportunities for Woltemade, but the City goalkeeper produced three important stops.

Although Newcastle had become too Woltemade-focused, other attackers have emerged as reliable options.

Particularly Barnes.

The attacker squandered important chances in the opening period - including missing an empty net - and confessed he wasn't "the fan favorite" during the break.

However, Barnes not only broke the deadlock with a superb strike from distance after halftime, he secured victory moments after City leveled through Ruben Dias.

The Magpies had held advantages against Arsenal, Brentford and West Ham but ended up defeated.

But they didn't collapse when Manchester City equalized or, indeed, after eight minutes of stoppage time were added.

This performance saw Newcastle dominate physical battles, winning more challenges and defensive actions.

Although Manchester City controlled possession, which naturally affects the statistics, Newcastle stood firm and made nearly twice as many clearances (36) and restricted the visitors to just four shots on target.

The defensive display caught the attention of ex-Newcastle player Jonathan Woodgate.

"Defensively they were outstanding, making it extremely challenging for City to exploit gaps in midfield," he stated in his broadcast analysis. "In the second period I judged them the dominant team, frequently exposing City in transition and finishing with two excellent Barnes strikes. What an enthralling contest."

St James' Stronghold

Yet should this result under the lights at St James' necessarily come as a massive surprise?

Just Manchester City (13) have secured more home Premier League victories than Newcastle (11) this year.

Since the beginning of last season, Newcastle have won eight, drawn two and lost just two of their home fixtures against Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester United and Tottenham across all competitions.

However, away from home, Newcastle haven't triumphed in the top flight since April.

This explains why the team were just a single point above the relegation zone before Saturday's significant victory.

"While I'd like to assert that supporters shouldn't affect player performance, it completely changes dynamics," Howe conceded. "We have to discover ways to create positivity in road games without spectator backing.

"That's our responsibility to resolve, whether through system adjustments, personnel changes. Whatever proves necessary, we must dedicate ourselves to identifying solutions."