Several Manchester City players were not at the races during their 1-1 draw against Newcastle United.

Pep Guardiola's men tend to have a game or two during the early part of the season where questions start to arise about their Premier League title credentials.

Drawing their last two league games against Arsenal and Newcastle, perhaps some have already started to pose such questions.

With Rodri being ruled out of the season due to his ACL injury as well, it seems like Manchester City have a mountain to climb to win the league this campaign.

Perhaps the counterargument to such a claim could be that City have lost key players in the past and still managed to remain successful.

For instance, Pep Guardiola has managed to mastermind Manchester City to title triumphs in 2019 and 2024 respectively despite missing Kevin De Bruyne for much of both seasons; emphasising his tactical ingenuity.

Richards singles Man City star out for "poor game" against Newcastle Even in Erling Haaland's injury-stricken absence last season, the likes of Phil Foden and Rodri ensured that City remain the team to beat.

Pep Guardiola will be trying to figure out solutions in the upcoming weeks and months to make sure that the Spaniard's absence is not felt.

Against Newcastle, the PS378,846-a-week manager tested out a midfield trio of Mateo Kovacic, Rico Lewis and Ilkay Gundogan.

Lewis and Gundogan played in advanced positions while Kovacic and Manuel Akanji were the visitors' double pivot at St. James' Park - an experiment that did not seem to work as a whole.

It will be interesting to see how Pep Guardiola sets his midfield up against Slovan Bratislava in the Champions League on Tuesday.

Micah Richards felt one player who certainly struggled in a Manchester City shirt during their draw against Newcastle was Gundogan.

Richards said on The Rest Is Football podcast: "He had a poor game. I think Gundogan is better receiving the ball off the back four, playing it to [Erling] Haaland and then trying to get into the box. He has played in that position before and has done really well in a 10 at times but the balance wasn't right for me."

Ilkay Gundogan will take time to settle in Despite Gundogan's experience when it comes to playing for a Pep Guardiola side, it will take time for him to settle into his surroundings at Manchester City.

The PS230,000-a-week (Sport Rac) man is coming off the back of playing in La Liga for a full season and he would be trying to adjust to the pace of Premier League football once again.

Furthermore, the German started only one game for Barcelona in pre-season against AC Milan.

As a result, it could be possible that Gundogan is not fully match-fit so far.

Considering the five-time Premier League winner was brilliant for Barcelona last season and also looked the part at Euro 2024, it would be premature to claim that he is past his best.

With a few more games under his belt, Gundogan could remind the world why he still remains one of the finest midfielders in world football.