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Joelinton, it seemed, was arguing with Pep Guardiola and Gianluigi Donnarumma. Once he was led away, he tagged in compatriot Bruno Guimaraes, who continued the row with Guardiola.
Eddie Howe was nearby and took one glance at his opposite number and captain locked in debate and turned to applaud the fans - he does not need the aggro, but he knows that sometimes his players do.
It was Dan Burn who said earlier this month that Newcastle had to rediscover their 's***housery' if they wanted to be the team the rest of the country hated to love.
So the sight of Jacob Murphy sitting down and holding his hamstring at 2-1 in stoppage-time, and then the Brazilian boys swapping boots for boxing gloves (no punches were thrown) once the bell had chimed, told you that Newcastle were back.
With that, though, was quality - two goals from Harvey Barnes and a midfield masterclass from Guimaraes.
So, how did Howe and his players achieve a victory over Manchester City that marked the head coach's first after 19 attempts in the Premier League?
Eddie Howe achieved his first victory over Man City in 19 attempts in the Premier League
England's World Cup full-backs...
Of the few positions that are seemingly up for grabs in Thomas Tuchel's World Cup XI, the two full-back berths are chief among them, especially at left back.
England pair Tino Livramento and Lewis Hall returned for Newcastle here and they made all the difference. Nico O'Reilly, England's most recent starter at left back, was playing for City, but Hall was the standout.
Howe knows that the absence of Livramento, 23, and Hall, 21, has hurt his team in recent weeks. With them, they can play higher up the pitch and have more energy and mobility across the entirety of the flanks.
By the full backs overlapping the wingers in front of them, the likes of Barnes and Jacob Murphy have more room to impact, as they did here.
If Tuchel was watching, he would have seen a pair exactly in the mould he wants - fast, front footed and unflappable.
Lewis Hall was a standout performer for Newcastle at left-back on his return from injury
Big Nick finally misses!
On an evening of many positives for Newcastle, Nick Woltemade missing three chances may not sound like one of them, but Howe was rightly delighted. Why? The £69million German has scored six goals since his arrival, from six shots on target.
Howe knew that ratio was not sustainable and his squad has spent two weeks working on ways to create more for the striker, even if he joked they had to do so in Woltemade's absence given he was away scoring goals for Germany.
By getting the full-backs high and the wingers, especially Murphy, delivering balls sooner and with greater frequency, Woltemade saw three efforts saved by Donnarumma.
'He might have had a hat-trick', you could say, but given he was barely getting a touch in the box before the break, this was a huge improvement.
Nick Woltemade saw three efforts saved by Gianluigi Donnarumma, but it was a huge improvement
Midfield Tweak
Sandro Tonali has been Newcastle's conductor for well over a year in the No 6 position. Howe shifted him to No 8 and Guimaraes into the holding role in a tactic designed to get the better of City in the middle of the park, and it worked.
The intention was for Tonali to use his athleticism to break forward and create fires for the opposition to deal with, rather than putting them out in front of his own backline.
He saw less of the ball but impacted in a more advanced domain, which is what Newcastle have been missing from their midfield of late.
Another consequence of the change was that Guimaraes looked inspired back in a more central domain, seizing the responsibly to boss the game.
He created the first for Barnes and it was from his header against the crossbar that the winger pounced to hook his second.
Sandro Tonali was shifted to No 8 and Bruno Guimaraes into the holding role in midfield
Barnes will tear you apart...
Newcastle's wingers have misfired for most of the Premier League season and, at half-time against City, Barnes looked like being the villain, having missed two wonderful chances.
But he was the hero come the end and answered some doubts that have emerged over his contribution as a starter.
His Newcastle career has jolted along in spasms for more than two seasons - some good, some bad, some indifferent.
This felt like the launchpad for a run of games and goals that will justify his inclusion, even if that is ahead of England's Anthony Gordon, who missed out at the last minute because of a hip injury.
Harvey Barnes answered doubts that have emerged over his contribution as a starter
Thiaw shall not pass
Erling Haaland did not score! Now there is a headline in itself. Why? He came up against Malick Thiaw, the Newcastle centre-back who some in Italy claimed was overpriced at £35m from Milan this summer.
The German is yet to have a bad game and, after pocketing Haaland, you'd argue you wouldn't find much change in there from double that fee if valuing him now.
Thiaw has been outstanding and this, against the Premier League's best, was perhaps his best yet.
