Micah Richards has claimed that Pep Guardiola made a tactical mistake at half-time during Manchester City's 3-3 draw at Newcastle.
City got off to the perfect start at St James' Park after Ilkay Gundogan put the Blues ahead with just five minutes played. However, Eddie Howe's side were roared back into the match by the home crowd as they went on to score three goals in-a-row against the reigning Premier League champions.
It was looking as if Guardiola's team were staring at their first defeat of the season, until two quick-fire goals from Erling Haaland and Bernardo Silva brought the sides level at 3-3. The game could have seen a very different end had Kieran Trippier's red card for a knee-high tackle on Kevin de Bruyne not been downgraded to a yellow card by VAR.
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The result saw City maintain their unbeaten start to the season as they showed their resilience to fight back from two goals down. Richards however, was surprised that Guardiola did not step in to make a change at half-time that could have helped the Blues take all three points.
"They (Newcastle) were dazzling, weren't they?" said Richards on Football Daily. "Saint-Maximin was just outstanding. Kyle Walker, you know how much I love him as a player. He has every attribute; he can defend, go forward, he can head it, can read the play when he needs to - but Saint-Maximin gave him a torrid time.
"We all know that Saint-Maximin, when he gets up to speed, he has a five or 10-yard burst and the pitch opens up. Once he gets into his stride, he can go either way. When you're running back, he's dictating to you where he wants to go. With Kyle Walker normally, when he's up against somebody quick, he just shows them up the line and they try to get round and he uses his pace to get back, but Saint-Maximin was on a different level.
"You'd think that when they went in at half-time, they would have put someone in front of Kyle Walker or got somebody really tight as soon as he took a touch, but it didn't happen. It's one of the best performances I've seen live from a player outside the top six. It was just brilliant to watch."
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