City will be top of the Premier League at Christmas after another dominant showing from Guardiola's side in their win at St James' Park.

Newcastle remain on 10 points, stuck in 19th place and have taken just five points from seven games since Howe was appointed. They could have few complaints over the result but were denied what looked a clear-cut penalty before half-time when Ederson wiped out Ryan Fraser.

It is the latest in a line of controversial calls to go against Howe and his side, with the Magpies manager branding Diogo Jota's equaliser for Liverpool in Newcastle's 3-1 defeat on Thursday "unjust", with Isaac Hayden injured in the build-up.

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Reflecting on this penalty incident, Howe said: "I'm not the type of manager that looks for excuses or looks to blame the officials but it's another clear big moment in the game that has gone against us. I'm shaking my head at it. The goalkeeper is out of control, he's wiped Ryan Fraser out. It's a stonewall penalty. How VAR hasn't intervened is a really strange one for me.

"I think there's been one in every game. At that stage we were well in the match and you don't know what can happen beyond that point."

On the penalty incident, City boss Guardiola said: "Fraser didn't have the ball. The ball was with (Joao) Cancelo. If Fraser has the ball it's a clear penalty but Cancelo had the ball so it's not a penalty."

Howe's men have now won just one of the 18 league games they have played this season and while their fate will not be dictated by what they achieve against the title-chasing sides, a worrying trend shows little sign of abating.

Howe was especially frustrated with the individual mistakes made by his defenders for the crucial opening goal.

"We shot ourselves in the foot. It was a big frustration," he said.

"If there's one team in world football you don't want to chase the game against it's Manchester City and to do it so early made our task doubly difficult. I thought the rest of the first half, bar their second goal, was a really disciplined performance. We really minimised their goalmouth action. They were relatively quiet although they scored two goals that sounds like a contradiction. We looked a threat and should have had a penalty.

"It's the ultimate test going to Anfield and playing Manchester City. There's been a lot of growth. If people look just at the scorelines then it would be the wrong reflection, like the Leicester game. We're seeing a team in transition. We're trying to find a solid base to work from, up until the 70th minute we had that. There is a lot more improvement to come and we're working hard to bring it to the club.

"January will be crucial on all levels. We're in a very difficult situation with the players being kicked unfairly at times this season in terms of decent performances that have ended up in defeats and decisions going against them. But we must be mentally tough and stick to the plan. I do believe we have the quality to achieve our goal."

Pep: First-half performance one of the worst this season

City have now won 34 Premier League games in 2021, setting a new top-division record for most wins in a calendar year and will top the tree on Christmas Day.

Not that Guardiola was in the mood for lavishing praise on his team, quite the opposite in fact.

"It was a good result but not a good performance," Guardiola told Sky Sports.

"The first half was one of the poorest we have had this season. We were not there. We didn't play in the rhythm we should play. Everyone gave more touches and lost the ball. We were lucky to score in the first few minutes. It was a misunderstanding from the Newcastle defenders and the second goal is a brilliant action from Cancelo - that made the difference. The second half was much closer to who we are. We have to try and improve.

"We have an obligation to play every single game at the highest level possible. I don't have reason why we don't play good every time."