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The Newcastle manager had tested various strategies.

Newcastle's manager had experimented with high-pressing tactics against City. He fielded others who adopted deeper defensive positions. Various tactical setups were attempted, none proving successful.

It reached the point where Howe was only partially joking when he stated "we don't have anything new left" before Saturday's match.

However, he uncovered an effective approach.

When Newcastle desperately needed a positive result, following a difficult loss at Brentford before the international break, Howe and his team devised a tactical plan to secure their first victory against Manchester City.

Their approach worked perfectly, resulting in a 2-1 triumph at a vibrant St James' Park giving Howe his maiden win over Guardiola's Manchester City in league competition.

"I've got lists and lists of things that haven't worked against them so I could probably tell you what doesn't," Howe revealed. "Identifying successful tactics requires minimal documentation, but we learn from each experience and make adjustments. This was our process."

'Strategic evolution over revolution'

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

The manager invested extensive time studying video, evaluating practice sessions and looking for answers to their irregular season.

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, with returning defenders Lewis Hall and Tino Livramento making their first joint start since autumn and creating a significant difference.

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.

Most of the squad members who played at Brentford and during the disappointing West Ham loss received chances to make amends.

"I'm against making wholesale changes," Howe stated. "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 Delivers When It Matters

Something clearly needed to change, however.

Only the struggling offenses of Wolves and Leeds had produced fewer goals than Newcastle this season.

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

While Woltemade was on international duty with Germany, Newcastle practiced varied attacking patterns around their striker 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.

Especially 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.

The Magpies had held advantages against Arsenal, Brentford and West Ham but ended up defeated.

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.

While City dominated the ball, inevitably skewing the numbers, Newcastle defended resolutely with 36 clearances and limited City to only four accurate shots.

This defensive effort was praised by former Magpies defender Jonathan Woodgate.

"Defensively they were outstanding, making it extremely challenging for City to exploit gaps in midfield," he told BBC Radio 5 Live. "After halftime I viewed them as the better side, repeatedly threatening City on breaks and netting two superb Barnes goals. What an entertaining match."

Home Dominance Continues

Nevertheless, is this outcome at a vibrant St James' Park truly astonishing?

Just Manchester City (13) have secured more home Premier League victories than Newcastle (11) this year.

Beginning last season, the Magpies have achieved eight wins, two draws and merely two losses at St James' Park versus elite Premier League opposition.

However, away from home, Newcastle haven't triumphed in the top flight since April.

This clarifies why they sat merely one point above the drop zone before Saturday's crucial result.

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

"This problem requires our solution, whether through formation tweaks, selection alterations. Whatever the solution, we must work diligently to find answers."