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Eddie Howe had exhausted all options.

The Newcastle United head coach previously deployed sides who pressed Manchester City aggressively. He fielded others who adopted deeper defensive positions. He experimented with multiple formations, all without positive results.

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.

The strategy paid dividends with a 2-1 win in front of a passionate home crowd giving Howe his maiden win over Guardiola's Manchester City in league competition.

"My records show numerous failed strategies against City, making clear what doesn't work," Howe stated. "The list of effective methods is brief, but we continuously learn and refine our approach. This was our process."

'Gradual improvements preferred'

Planning commenced in the aftermath of their Brentford setback.

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

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

Important modifications were made specifically for the City match.

Skipper Bruno Guimaraes took up a central midfield position, replacing Sandro Tonali who had occupied that spot, with returning defenders Lewis Hall and Tino Livramento making their first joint start since autumn and creating a significant difference.

Defender Fabian Schar earned his first league start since autumn, coming in for Sven Botman.

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.

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

"I don't support the idea of tearing everything down," Howe stated. "Only in crisis situations would I consider drastic changes, which this isn't, and that's not my approach.

"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 the struggling offenses of Wolves and Leeds had produced fewer goals than Newcastle this season.

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 including Barnes and Jacob Murphy, to enhance his performance when he rejoined the team.

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

However, while Newcastle previously relied too heavily on Woltemade, additional squad members have started making important contributions.

Particularly Barnes.

The forward was responsible for several significant misses in the first half - even failing to hit the target with an open goal - and admitted he was not "the most popular man" at halftime.

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.

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

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

This was an evening when Newcastle won more tackles and aerial duels, and made more blocks than their opponents.

Despite City's possession advantage, which distorts the data, Newcastle cleared their lines 36 times and confined City to merely four shots on goal.

That defensive performance impressed former Newcastle defender Jonathan Woodgate.

"Without the ball they were magnificent, complicating City's efforts to penetrate defensive lines," he stated in his broadcast analysis. "Second half I considered them the superior team, consistently catching City on counter-attacks and ultimately scoring two magnificent goals by Barnes. What a spectacular game."

St James' Stronghold

Nevertheless, is this outcome at a vibrant St James' Park truly astonishing?

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

From the start of the previous campaign, Newcastle have recorded eight victories, two draws and only two defeats at home against top opponents including City, Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea, United and Spurs.

Nonetheless, on their travels, Newcastle haven't secured a league victory since spring.

This accounts for their position just one point clear of the bottom three prior to Saturday's important win.

"Although I wish to state that atmosphere shouldn't impact gameplay, it fundamentally alters proceedings," Howe conceded. "We must determine how to transfer positive energy into our away performances when we lack crowd support.

"That's our responsibility to resolve, whether through system adjustments, personnel changes. Regardless of the approach, we need to commit to finding remedies."