Manchester City beat Newcastle United 2-1 in a Premier League match at Eastlands marred by serious injury to Hatem Ben Arfa.
Carlos Tevez's 18th-minute penalty was cancelled out soon afterwards by Jonas Gutierrez, before second-half substitute Adam Johnson scored a winner that sends City into the Champions League places just three minutes after coming on. But those goals were overshadowed by Ben Arfa's fourth-minute injury.
The Frenchman was caught by a rough challenge from the side by City's midfield enforcer Nigel de Jong, and was stretchered off wearing an oxygen mask before being rushed to Manchester Royal Infirmary with a break in his left leg. The on-loan Marseille winger was replaced by Wayne Routledge.
Despite his reputation, De Jong escaped any censure from referee Martin Atkinson.
The match took time to regain its momentum, but when it did City found plenty of joy as David Silva and James Milner continually got in behind Newcastle's high line, only to be thwarted by several last-minute blocks, most notably by Mike Williamson.
Williamson was unfortunate to concede the penalty that led to the opening goal when he appeared to get a touch on the ball as he tackled Tevez, but the referee pointed to the spot and booked the defender.
Tevez hammered his spot-kick straight down the middle to register his fifth goal of the season.
Gutierrez levelled six minutes later when his cross was blocked by Vincent Kompany, but he pounced on the loose ball to fire a rasping shot past Joe Hart off the underside of the crossbar for his first goal since April. The strike also heralded the first time that two different Argentine players have scored in an English league match.
Newcastle boss Chris Hughton's injury worries got worse on 35 minutes when Fabricio Coloccini limped off with a groin injury to be replaced by Sol Campbell. The former England defender's first league appearance for the Magpies means he is the second player - after Manchester United's Ryan Giggs - to feature in all 19 seasons of the Premier League era.
City began the second half the brighter, with Tevez stinging the palms of keeper Tim Krul, and soon afterwards Roberto Mancini made a rare attacking switch by replacing Yaya Toure with Emmanuel Adebayor.
City's offensive threat was given a further boost with the 72nd-minute introduction of Johnson, and the England winger took just three minutes to score against the club he supported and spent two years with as a boy.
Johnson cut inside from the right and weaved his way through two black-and-white shirts with a step-over before firing a clinical low strike through the legs of Williamson and into the far bottom corner.
Hughton responded by bringing on striker Andy Carroll, who lost his starting berth to Shola Ameobi as he struggled with an ankle injury.
Ameobi was good value for his place in the side, however, with an impressive target man's performance throughout, and he should have been rewarded with a penalty when he turned neatly away from Kolo Toure and was caught by Joleon Lescott, but the referee ignored the appeals.
Williamson, another strong performer for the Magpies, could have headed his side level with little over five minutes remaining, but he could only send his effort from Joey Barton's corner over the bar and City went on to claim their 50th league win over Newcastle.
Team Line-up:
Manchester City: Joe Hart, Vincent Kompany, Kolo Toure, Joleon Lescott, Jerome Boateng, Gareth Barry (Adam Johnson 72), Nigel De Jong, Yaya Toure (Emmanuel Adebayor 57), James Milner, David Silva, Carlos Tevez (Patrick Vieira 86 .)
Newcastle United: Tim Krul, Fabricio Coloccini (Sol Campbell 36), Michael Williamson, Jose Enrique, James Perch, Ismael Tiote, Joey Barton, Kevin Nolan (Andy Carroll 77), Jonas Gutierrez, Hatem Ben Arfa (Wayne Routledge 8), Shola Ameobi.
