sport news A season of harsh lessons can't end soon enough for Eddie Howe after Newcastle ... trends now

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For Newcastle, this was like being kept at arm’s length in a play fight by a dismissive older brother. It applies to most teams, but they were slower, weaker and less savvy than Manchester City.

A defeat that felt inevitable from the moment of Bernardo Silva’s 13th-minute opener – he added a second on the half hour - means their wait for a domestic trophy will extend to the biblical definition of a lifetime, three score years and ten.

But how many years will be added to that? Ask the same question last summer and many were measuring the expected wait in months, not years. 

Eddie Howe had taken Newcastle into the Champions League and the Saudi-funded club were about to upset the Premier League’s established order. Saturday was a reminder of them being kept in their place for a little while yet.

This season has been bruising for Newcastle, literally and metaphorically. Their transfer business last summer was short-sighted in that it was long-sighted - they did not buy enough players for the here and now.

At the Etihad, only one of their four signings featured, and that was loanee Lewis Hall for the final 28 minutes.