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Howe had tried numerous approaches.

The Newcastle United head coach previously deployed sides who pressed Manchester City aggressively. Other formations saw his team sitting back defensively. Various tactical setups were attempted, none proving successful.

Howe was barely exaggerating when he said "we've tried everything" ahead of the weekend fixture.

But he discovered a solution.

After suffering a disappointing defeat at Brentford prior to the international break, Newcastle required a response, Howe and his team devised a tactical plan to secure their first victory against Manchester City.

And their planning proved successful following a 2-1 victory at an electric St James' Park marking Howe's initial Premier League success against Guardiola's side after 16 previous failures.

"My records show numerous failed strategies against City, making clear what doesn't work," Howe revealed. "Telling you what does is a very small piece of paper, but you just try and learn from experience and just tweak something the next time. This was our process."

'I don't believe in radical overhauls'

The foundation was established in the days following Newcastle's 3-1 defeat at Brentford this month.

Howe spent numerous hours examining game film, assessing training and searching for fixes to their up-and-down form.

With a smaller squad during the international period, the team worked on restoring "their vitality and movement".

Some significant tactical changes were introduced against Manchester City.

Skipper Bruno Guimaraes took up a central midfield position, replacing Sandro Tonali who had occupied that spot, while returning full-backs Lewis Hall and Tino Livramento started together for the first time since September and made a substantial impact.

Fabian Schar returned to the starting lineup for the first time in two months, taking Sven Botman's position.

Nonetheless, instead of making sweeping alterations, Howe stuck with his favored 4-3-3 formation and two of the three modifications to his starting lineup were essentially forced after Kieran Trippier and Anthony Gordon missed out through injury.

The majority of players who featured at Brentford and, indeed, in the damaging defeat at West Ham, were given opportunities to redeem themselves.

"I don't agree with completely overhauling systems," Howe declared. "Only in crisis situations would I consider drastic changes, which this isn't, and that's not my approach.

"I possess strong insight into our top talent and strive to create optimal conditions for their development by assisting them and encouraging their progress."

Barnes Rises to the Occasion

However, transformation was undoubtedly required.

Prior to this game, only Wolves and Leeds United had netted fewer Premier League goals than Newcastle.

New signing Nick Woltemade had seemed detached, with minimal attacking supply, particularly away from home.

Although Woltemade was away with Germany during the international break, Newcastle worked on different movements of players around the forward such as Barnes and Jacob Murphy, to maximize his effectiveness upon return.

Newcastle manufactured several scoring opportunities for Woltemade, but the City goalkeeper produced three important stops.

However, while Newcastle previously relied too heavily on Woltemade, additional squad members have started making important contributions.

Notably Barnes.

The attacker squandered important chances in the opening period - including missing an empty net - and confessed he wasn't "the fan favorite" during the break.

Yet Barnes didn't just score the opener with a quality finish from range in the second period, he netted the decider shortly after City drew level via Ruben Dias.

Newcastle had been ahead versus Arsenal, Brentford and West Ham but surrendered their leads.

Yet they remained resilient after City's equalizer and throughout eight minutes of added time.

The match featured Newcastle outperforming City in defensive statistics, including tackles, headers and blocks.

Although Manchester City controlled possession, which naturally affects the statistics, Newcastle stood firm and made nearly twice as many clearances (36) and restricted the visitors to just four shots on target.

The defensive display caught the attention of ex-Newcastle player Jonathan Woodgate.

"Defensively they were outstanding, making it extremely challenging for City to exploit gaps in midfield," he stated in his broadcast analysis. "After halftime I viewed them as the better side, repeatedly threatening City on breaks and netting two superb Barnes goals. What an enthralling contest."

Home Dominance Continues

However, should this victory at a illuminated St James' Park be considered completely unexpected?

Only City (13) have collected more home league wins than Newcastle (11) in the current season.

Since the beginning of last season, Newcastle have won eight, drawn two and lost just two of their home fixtures against Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester United and Tottenham across all competitions.

Nonetheless, on their travels, Newcastle haven't secured a league victory since spring.

This accounts for their position just one point clear of the bottom three prior to Saturday's important win.

"As much as I'd prefer to claim the crowd shouldn't influence on-field performance, it transforms everything," Howe admitted. "We need to identify methods to generate momentum in away matches without fan assistance.

"That's our responsibility to resolve, whether through system adjustments, personnel changes. Whatever the solution, we must work diligently to find answers."