Having already been crowned champions of the 2020/21 premier league season, following Manchester United's loss to Leicester City in midweek, it was a night of records Manchester City, who were in no mood to slow down as they came from behind to defeat Newcastle United 3-4.
An unlikely Ferran Torres Hatrick and a fourth from Joao Cancelo, sealed the comeback victory for the Champions having previously went behind to goals for from Emil Kraft and Joe Willock.
With the Champions League final still to play in a fortnight, Pep Guardiola made five changes to his team, handing a rare start to 35-year old Scott Carson in what was his first game in over two years.
Steve Bruce's only change was the inclusion of Joelinton in place of Calum Wilson who was unavailable due to injury.
Against the run of play, Newcastle took a surprise lead in the 27th minute. Jonjo Shelvey sent in a beautiful corner which Krafth rose highest, in front of Nathan Ake to power home, giving Carson no chance at all.
The Magpies continued their search for rhythm after the first goal and with the knowledge that their safety is guaranteed, the had lesser pressure on them.
They almost notched their second on the 35th minute. A free kick from Shelvey from shooting range went up and down the wall, beating everyone, including the goalkeeper, but the crossbar would deny such beauty.
It was City's turn to respond and they did so without hesitation. A prolonged period of possession and pressure finally yielded fruit as they found the equalizer on the 39th minute.
A cross from Rodri Hernandez found Joao Cancelo on the left side at the edge of the box. The Portugal international hit one towards goal which took a wicked deflection off Newcastle's Jacob Murphy, leaving Martin Dubravka with no chance.
The visitors continued their dominance, which was not unexpected and on the 43rd minute, they got their second.
Ilkay Gundogan with a free kick from the left side of attack into the area and in on the near post, Ferran Torres had to be creative to acrobatically flick the ball into the back of the net. What a sensation it was.
The drama wasn't finished in the first half as the last minute of additional time saw another goal, this time, it was Newcastle equalizing.
A counter attack by the hosts released Allan Saint-Maximin who did well to hold up play before playing in Jeolinton. The Brazilian was brought down by Nathan Ake for a penalty. The VAR reviewed for a possible offside in the build up but Nathan Ake, again, kept Saint-Maximin onside. Jeolinton stepped up and fired into the top left corner. What an end to the first half.
The second half was not short of excitement and end to end football.
The game climaxed just after the hour mark. A crazy six minutes witnessed three goals that changed the face of the game entirely.
First on the 62nd minute, Joe Willock's change of pace to beat two Man City defenders into the 18-yard box saw him brought down by Kyle Walker. Referee Kevin Friend awarded a penalty. Willock stepped up to the responsibility and his effort to the bottom left corner was well saved by Carson but the rebound fell graciously back to the English international, which he was quick to react to and score from close range. 3-2, Newcastle led.
The next two minutes saw an instant response from City. Gabriel Jesus with a dazzling run on the right side of attack to the byline saw him cross the ball into the area and from six yards out, Torres again stretched his feet to tap home on a half volley.
The drama and comeback were complete on the 66th minute when Cancelo again, similar to how he scored City's first, fired a low shot into the bottom right corner from the left side of attack. His shot came off the post and Torres, completing his Hatrick, reacted first to score from close range. The comeback was complete for the Champions.
With that win, Man City have now gone 23 matches on the road unbeaten in all competitions, winning 21 and drawing 2, overtaking the record of 22 matches set by Nottingham Forest in 2002 in all four tiers of English football.
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