Manchester City's Adam Johnson came off the bench to score the winner in a 2-1 victory over Newcastle as Roberto Mancini's big-spenders went second in the English Premier League on Sunday.
Johnson had only been on the pitch for a matter of minutes before he fired City in front with a quarter of an hour left at Eastlands after Carlos Tevez's early penalty had been cancelled out by Newcastle’s Jonas Gutierrez.
Defeat for Newcastle was made worse by the early loss of Hatem Ben Arfa with a suspected broken leg after a crunching challenge by City’s Nigel de Jong.
Victory left City a point behind Premier League leaders Chelsea who will go three points clear at the top if they beat London rivals Arsenal, who kicked-off in third place, at Stamford Bridge later Sunday.
City took an 18th minute lead when Carlos Tevez scored from the penalty spot after he tumbled over the sliding challenge of Mike Williamson.
But six minutes later Newcastle were level when Jonas Gutierrez followed up his own half-cleared cross to shoot into the top of the net from 12 yards.
{{/usCountry}}But six minutes later Newcastle were level when Jonas Gutierrez followed up his own half-cleared cross to shoot into the top of the net from 12 yards.
{{/usCountry}}Meanwhile, 18-times English champions Liverpool will find themselves, extraordinarily, stuck in the bottom three if they lose at home to Blackpool.
Lazio hit top spot
Lazio rose to the top of Serie A for at least a few hours with a 1-0 win over Brescia on Sunday while city rivals AS Roma went down 2-0 at second-placed Napoli.
Stefano Mauri netted for Lazio just before the break when playmaker Hernanes used released the midfielder who finished with aplomb.
Lazio, relegation candidates last season, moved on to 13 points from six games but will be overhauled by Inter Milan if the champions beat als Juventus later in the weekend.