Guardiola praises Man City's crucial victory against Newcastle

Pep Guardiola described Manchester City's tight 2-1 triumph over Newcastle on Saturday as a hugely important development in the Premier League championship contest.

Guardiola's team in second position narrowed the distance to top team Arsenal to only two points thanks to their hard fought success at the Etihad Stadium.

Nico O'Reilly opened the scoring for City during the opening period and regained the advantage before the interval following Lewis Hall's leveller.

City struggled to shine after the break yet managed to cling on and increase the strain on struggling Arsenal who face Tottenham in the north London showdown on Sunday.

Guardiola recognised the need to keep Arsenal under duress.

"Huge. Newcastle form a formidable side full of remarkable strength and pace in attack. Power in midfield. Extremely challenging but the squad performed exceptionally," he commented.

"It arrives at the peak of the campaign. Each match will resemble this one."

Following a trophyless previous year City are once again pursuing their seventh Premier League crown under Guardiola.

They hold an extra fixture against Arsenal post this round and could secure the championship by taking maximum points from their remaining 11 league outings.

Guardiola has overseen a costly refresh of City's roster over the past year releasing veteran figures such as Kevin De Bruyne Ederson and Kyle Walker while adding talents like Marc Guehi Antoine Semenyo and Rayan Cherki.

The manager from Spain realises that much of his refreshed lineup lacks prior exposure to the intensity of a title challenge rendering their determined win over Newcastle all the more valuable.

"Seventy percent of the squad has not faced such scenarios and I do not feature. Thus we must endure it they understand every encounter will match this intensity," he noted.

"Particularly at home with five domestic fixtures remaining. The support today ranked as the finest this season it was extraordinary from our supporters truly honoured to lead these wonderful individuals and followers.

"Naturally regarding the points tally it matters but we must enhance our play to stay in contention right through. For now we have earned a well deserved three day break. Then comes the next clash at Leeds."

Guardiola highlighted O'Reilly for acclaim after the young English midfielder's two sharp strikes demonstrated his resilience amid the pursuit of Arsenal.

"Nico provides that essential robustness in the centre. He now occupies his natural role," he stated. 

"He has consistently done so he is thoroughly versatile and still so youthful. I am delighted the youth setup has nurtured these outstanding talents Nico Phil (Foden) Rico (Lewis)."