After returning to Manchester from London, Man City took a brief rest before immediately heading north to face Newcastle away.
This was the Premier League's thirty-seventh round.
Since Man City had played in the FA Cup final the previous weekend, this match had been postponed to midweek.
Newcastle currently sat fifth in the Premier League, just one point behind fourth-place Tottenham Hotspur. The Magpies had poured enormous effort into the match, trying to topple Man City at home and seize the precious Champions League spot.
For traditional Premier League powerhouse Newcastle, this was undoubtedly a sign of revival.
That was precisely why Newcastle fought with such tenacity at home.
Everyone knew that Man City had been battling on multiple fronts for a long time and had just fought Liverpool tooth and nail in the FA Cup final. The team was exhausted from its long campaign. Even with heavy rotation, the players' lack of familiarity with one another could become a serious problem, so Newcastle still had a chance to pull off an upset at home.
The match did indeed unfold as the outside world had predicted. Although Man City controlled possession, they were unable to break the deadlock for a long time. In particular, the strike partnership of Džeko and Agüero never managed to land a decisive blow against Newcastle.
However, Newcastle could not gain any advantage over Man City either.
The stalemate continued from the first half into the second. Man City made several substitutions, but none of them involved Su Dong.
This led many people to guess that Guardiola was probably planning to let Su Dong rest.
But in the seventieth minute, Su Dong suddenly walked to the touchline and replaced the Portuguese midfielder Moutinho.
Moutinho had injured his right foot while contesting the ball with Newcastle midfielder