Newcastle United left the Etihad Stadium wondering what might have been this weekend but despite the loss in the North-West, it felt like a step in the right direction.
That Pep Guardiola started the day by heaping praise on Eddie Howe and Newcastle in his programme notes by describing the Magpies as "good to watch" and finished it by insisting the will be "a threat" in the title race shows how far Newcastle have come in a short space of time. Just 12 months ago they were hovering above the relegation zone but will now see the remainder of the season out in Champions League contention.
Guardiola said after his side won 2-0: "Their threat is not a surprise, there is a reason why they were in the Carabao Cup final and for a lot of minutes they were better than (Man) United. "This team and this club in the next few years will be a threat for the title."
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However, for all the pleasantries after the game - once things had cooled down in the tunnel area after a late game bust-up - it is about what Newcastle do in their final 14 matches. A home game against Wolverhampton Wanderers next Sunday followed by a trip to Nottingham Forest gives them the chance to close the gap on a Tottenham side that didn't capitalise on this defeat at Eastlands.
It's only one win in eight for Newcastle in the Premier League but despite their slip in form they may have turned the corner from Wembley last weekend against Manchester United. The problem in the Carabao Cup final was that Newcastle could not create anything clear-cut in terms of chances.
Here they simply couldn't polish of one of the five good opportunities their play created overall on the big Etihad surface. Despite the main two misses for Callum Wilson and Joelinton, there would be a bigger issue if they weren't getting into the positions to squander a chance in the first place.
There was another hidden positive from the day at Man City after Allan Saint-Maximin's cameo from the bench. Saint-Maximin did see one header saved but made plenty of running in a half-hour cameo.
Saint-Maximin had given a 10/10 display in the corresponding fixture but found himself benched. But with Howe clearly looking to keep his team in the game for an hour, it felt like Saint-Maximin had bought into the plan to be an impact sub.
It's that type of attitude around the squad that Howe loves and he will be confident that Newcastle can end their poor run next Sunday against Wolves.
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