Another game and another 2-0 defeat against another traditional big hitter. These matches against Man City, Manchester United and Liverpool serve as a reminder of how far Newcastle United have come in the last 12 months but, also, how far Eddie Howe's side still have to go.
Although Newcastle have not necessarily played badly in any of these reverses, there has been a recurring theme each week: the Magpies have simply not been sharp enough in both boxes. Saturday's loss against City was a case in point at the Etihad.
Newcastle may still have statistically the meanest defence in the Premier League, but no one could stop Phil Foden for City's opener on the quarter hour mark while Kieran Trippier sloppily gave the ball away in the build-up to Bernardo Silva's clincher midway through the second half.
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Given how wasteful Newcastle have been in the final third of late, every goal conceded is a hammer blow. It felt like Groundhog Day in front of goal against City after Callum Wilson, Anthony Gordon, Sean Longstaff all spurned good openings in a first half where Newcastle, somehow, failed to have a single shot on target.
It was only when substitute Alexander Isak entered the fray on the hour mark that Newcastle finally started to make Ederson work. However, even then, the visitors were unable to take their chances before Bernardo landed a sucker punch.
That lack of confidence in front of goal has repeatedly reared its head during a run of just one win in eight games in the Premier League. The only blessing for Newcastle is that misfiring Spurs have not taken full advantage in the table.
Yet it is easy to forget the progress Newcastle have made this season. This was certainly not the Etihad surrender of previous years and the bus was not parked.
Indeed, even when Newcastle were 2-0 down, the visitors continued to fight - quite literally. When Dan Burn hauled Jack Grealish down in the 72nd minute, and told the City forward to get up, Ruben Dias rushed over to push the Geordie. A melee soon broke out as Burn and Erling Haaland both grabbed each other's shirts and Jamaal Lascelles, Joelinton and Alexander Isak rushed over to back their team-mate up. Even in defeat, Newcastle were not waving the white flag.
"That's not in doubt for me," Howe told reporters. "We have got a team full of warriors, full of really competitive players that are desperate to win.
"That's so important for me as a manager to see that drive in the team. We're not going to sit back, we're not going to take what's happening in the game. We will stand up for ourselves, we will stand up for each other. I want to see that on the pitch."
Newcastle will certainly need to show that fight, and more besides, to start winning games again but Pep Guardiola knows what is coming down the line. "Newcastle in the next years will be a real threat to fight for the titles," the City boss told BT Sport after the game.
When it comes to the here and now, Howe's side did not necessarily look like a team nursing a cup final hangover following last week's defeat against Manchester United at Wembley. Ilkay Gundogan may have fired an early warning shot, when the midfielder's header landed on the roof of the net inside a minute, but Newcastle made an assured start.
Newcastle pressed high up the pitch, forcing City into uncharacteristic errors at the back, and Ederson booted the ball out of play under pressure. The Magpies created their first opening just a few minutes later when Bruno Guimaraes sent Gordon racing down the left, but the full debutant lost his footing at the crucial moment.
It was a big moment in a game like this and City made Newcastle pay on the quarter hour mark. Rodri's sweeping pass picked out Foden out on the right and the England international drifted inside Burn before driving past Anthony Gordon and Bruno. Foden had the split second he needed to get a shot away and the forward's effort was deflected into the net by the sliding Sven Botman to leave Nick Pope with no chance.
Newcastle may have capitulated once upon a time, but the Magpies rallied and Wilson soon slipped in Longstaff. However, Longstaff waited too long to pull the trigger and Nathan Ake was able to block the midfielder's shot.
That chance reminded City they needed a second and the champions started to pin Newcastle back in their own half, as the visitors dropped deep, and Erling Haaland headed Kevin De Bruyne's cross wide when he should have scored. Yet Newcastle managed to weather that storm and Howe's side should have been level before half-time when Longstaff's searching ball was nodded across goal by Kieran Trippier to Wilson. The striker attempted to catch it on the volley, but failed to properly connect. It was the kind of opportunity Wilson would have taken with his eyes closed in the first half of the campaign, but the number nine has just not looked like himself in recent weeks.
Although Howe resisted hooking Wilson at the break, and making any changes at half-time, the Newcastle boss made a bold triple substitution after the hour mark and threw on Joe Willock, Allan Saint-Maximin and Alexander Isak in place of Longstaff, Gordon and Wilson. The subs gave Newcastle a shot in the arm and all three of them quickly made an impact.
Indeed, Willock swung in a teasing cross that was begging to be knocked in midway through the second half, but Joelinton could not connect. Isak then had a shot blocked by Ruben Dias before Ederson dealt with the striker's follow-up.
Isak looked like he had a point to prove and the Sweden international left Manuel Akanji in the dust before his cross was met by the head of Saint-Maximin, but Ederson gathered easily in the 66th minute.
City fans were suddenly getting a little nervous, but the hosts had a game-changing substitute of their own in Bernardo Silva, who doubled the hosts' lead just a minute later. Game over, but this journey has only just begun for Newcastle.
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