Newcastle, England

Yaya Toure scored Manchester City's third goal to seal the win against Newcastle, 3-1.

The reigning champions enjoyed a 2-0 lead before the break with goals from Sergio Aguero and Javi Garcia.

To their credit, Newcastle was determined not to capitulate.

They got their reward with 51 minutes gone when, after Vurnon Anita's corner had been half-cleared, Fabricio Coloccini hooked the ball back into the penalty area where Ba beat the offside trap to head firmly past Joe Hart.

It was Ba's 11th goal of the season.

Twelve minutes later, Pablo Zabaleta got in down the left and crossed for Toure to make it 3-1.

Deprived of the threat of Frenchman Hatem Ben Arfa, Newcastle boss Alan Pardew beefed up his midfield with the more defensively-minded James Perch.

But the pace and movement of Samir Nasri, David Silva, Carlos Tevez and Aguero, coupled with the vision of the imperious Toure, was simply too much for Newcastle to handle. Had it not been for the efforts of goalkeeper Tim Krul and some less than effective finishing, the game could have been out of their reach long before half-time.

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