As Man City and Erling Haaland continue to put all before them to the sword, Newcastle United's fearless performance against the champions looks even better in hindsight. It was not just the fact that Newcastle took a point off Pep Guardiola's awesome outfit - Aston Villa have also done that this season - it was the manner in which the Magpies played in the 3-3 draw.
Yes, Newcastle could not ultimately see the game out, after being 3-1 up before the hour mark, but Eddie Howe's side went toe to toe with one of the best teams in the world at St James' Park last August. You only have to look at Manchester United shipping six at the Etihad on Sunday to realise how difficult that is to do as Erik ten Hag lamented the Red Devils' 'lack of belief' against their bitter rivals. Newcastle, in contrast, gave City a bloody nose.
Newcastle may be slightly down on where Howe hoped to be in terms of points at this stage of the campaign, after only winning two league games, but there can be no doubt that this side are playing more on the front foot with a higher defensive line and players who press high up the pitch. The most basic of metrics told you that even before Newcastle ran riot against 10-man Fulham at the weekend to move up to seventh place in the table.
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The Magpies have averaged 53% possession, 16 shots and eight corners per game in their opening eight Premier League fixtures this season. Newcastle had as much as 72% of the ball against Bournemouth, 64% at Wolves and 61% against Forest and Howe's side only had less possession than the opposition versus Brighton (45%), Man City (31%) and Liverpool (28%).
Newcastle, of course, have to make the most of all that territory when sides are now paying the ultimate compliment by sitting in to try and frustrate Howe's team. That is certainly what Crystal Palace and Bournemouth did to take a point at St James' last month.
However, the reality is there have been occasions where Newcastle have played better without winning this season than when they were regularly picking up three points under Howe in the second half of the previous campaign. In fact, even when Newcastle won six of the final eight matches last season, the Magpies averaged just 41% possession, 11 shots and three corners per game.
Yes, Newcastle picked up so many points in these matches, but these are not sustainable metrics over the course of a season given where Howe wants to take this side. Even in victories at home, after all, Newcastle had so little of the ball against Leicester (31%), Palace (36%) and Wolves (41%) as the Magpies relied on transitions and the counter-attack.
One of Howe's main targets for the new campaign, then, was to improve these markers after admitting that Newcastle were 'down' in a number of key areas last season. Howe wants his side to be stronger and more competitive in games, and that does not mean sitting back.
"There's no right or wrong approach," Howe told reporters earlier this season. "There's just an approach that fits you and your team at that moment. For us, where we want to try and get to, I don't see the top teams sitting off and sitting deep.
"The majority of top teams around the world in football are very aggressive, progressive and brave. I believe that's the model that we're going to need to have long-term success."
That shift, as well as around £210m of investment in new players in 2022, has not gone unnoticed. Guardiola noted how Newcastle were 'growing' and 'so aggressive' after City went home with a point at St James' earlier this season while Palace boss Patrick Vieira went as far as to say 'this is one of the teams you can count on playing European football'.
It is important to stress Newcastle remain very much a work in progress when it comes to breaking stubborn teams down and the ability to show an ugly side will be important, too, as the visitors did at Anfield last August. Newcastle, who made huge strides off the ball last season, disrupted Liverpool's rhythm, frustrated Jurgen Klopp's side by running the clock down and came within seconds of claiming a deserved point.
Chelsea boss Graham Potter is among those managers who have seen this side of Newcastle first-hand after describing the black-and-whites as 'very well-organised with pace and power in the team' after coming up against Howe in one of his final games in charge of Brighton earlier this season.
Newcastle have a long way to go but with playmaker Jonjo Shelvey, talisman Allan Saint-Maximin and record signing Alexander Isak all to come back into the team, the Magpies are heading in the right direction.
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