Rafa Benitez sprung a surprise amongst the Geordie faithful ahead of tonight’s crunch clash against Man City by dropping the team’s top goalscorer, Gini Wijnaldum.
His team selection proved to be perfect as a resilient, determined performance allowed the Magpies to gain a crucial point in front of their home fans.
It could have been three, but a terrible decision from the linesman to allow Aguero’s opener, and a chance squandered by Wijnaldum in the dying embers of the encounter meant United had to settle for a draw.
A terrific finish from Vurnon Anita – who put in a tremendous shift at right-back – levelled the scoring in the first-half, as Benitez virtually walked his players through the entire game.
In weeks and months gone by, Newcastle’s squad have been criticised both internally and externally for their lack of character, but tonight, it cannot be questioned.
Here’s how we rated the players’ performances from tonight’s match: