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Eddie Howe had exhausted all options.

The Newcastle United head coach previously deployed sides who pressed Manchester City aggressively. He tried alternative approaches with teams that dropped deeper. Different systems were tested, but none yielded victory.

It reached the point where Howe was only partially joking when he stated "we don't have anything new left" before Saturday's match.

Yet he found an answer.

When Newcastle desperately needed a positive result, following a difficult loss at Brentford before the international break, 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 as Howe secured his first top-flight victory against Pep Guardiola's team at his 17th attempt.

"I've got lists and lists of things that haven't worked against them so I could probably tell you what doesn't," Howe stated. "The list of effective methods is brief, but we continuously learn and refine our approach. This was our process."

'Strategic evolution over revolution'

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

The manager invested extensive time studying video, evaluating practice sessions and looking for answers to their irregular season.

Despite having fewer players available, Newcastle concentrated on regaining "their dynamism and physicality" during the break.

Important modifications were made specifically for the City match.

Bruno Guimaraes was deployed centrally in midfield, a role previously held by Sandro Tonali, with returning defenders Lewis Hall and Tino Livramento making their first joint start since autumn and creating a significant difference.

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

However, rather than implementing radical changes, Howe maintained his preferred 4-3-3 system with two of the three lineup changes being necessitated by injuries to Kieran Trippier and Anthony Gordon.

Most of the squad members who played at Brentford and during the disappointing West Ham loss received chances to make amends.

"I'm against making wholesale changes," Howe declared. "Only in crisis situations would I consider drastic changes, which this isn't, and that's not my approach.

"I believe I have a clear understanding of our strongest players and I want to provide them every opportunity to demonstrate their qualities by assisting them and encouraging their progress."

Barnes Steps Up Crucial Moments

However, transformation was undoubtedly required.

Prior to this game, only Wolves and Leeds United had netted fewer Premier League goals than Newcastle.

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

Although Woltemade was away with Germany during the international break, Newcastle worked on different movements of players around the forward including Barnes and Jacob Murphy, to enhance his performance when he rejoined the team.

Newcastle certainly created opportunities for Woltemade on Saturday, who was denied on three occasions by Manchester City goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma.

But whereas Newcastle were once overly dependent on Woltemade, other players have begun to contribute significantly.

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.

Yet Barnes didn't just score the opener with a quality finish from range in the second period, he netted the decider shortly after City drew level via Ruben Dias.

Newcastle had been ahead versus Arsenal, Brentford and West Ham but surrendered their leads.

Yet they remained resilient after City's equalizer and throughout eight minutes of added time.

The match featured Newcastle outperforming City in defensive statistics, including tackles, headers and blocks.

While City dominated the ball, inevitably skewing the numbers, Newcastle defended resolutely with 36 clearances and limited City to only four accurate shots.

That defensive performance impressed former Newcastle defender Jonathan Woodgate.

"Defensively they were outstanding, making it extremely challenging for City to exploit gaps in midfield," he stated in his broadcast analysis. "After halftime I viewed them as the better side, repeatedly threatening City on breaks and netting two superb Barnes goals. What a spectacular game."

Home Dominance Continues

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.

Beginning last season, the Magpies have achieved eight wins, two draws and merely two losses at St James' Park versus elite Premier League opposition.

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 admitted. "We need to identify methods to generate momentum in away matches without fan assistance.

"This problem requires our solution, whether through formation tweaks, selection alterations. Whatever proves necessary, we must dedicate ourselves to identifying solutions."