Manchester City's Kevin de Bruyne inspired a late comeback 3-2 victory for his side at Newcastle United on Saturday in his first Premier League action since the opening day of the season.
The Belgian midfielder, out since August because of a hamstring injury, came off the bench in the 69th minute with City trailing 2-1 and sparked a remarkable turnaround.
De Bruyne equalised with a trademark silky finish five minutes after replacing Bernardo Silva and played the perfect pass in stoppage time for fellow substitute Oscar Bobb to secure the three points with his first Premier League goal.
City's players celebrated loudly at the final whistle as the win took them up to second place, two points behind Liverpool with both sides having played 20 games.
Bernardo Silva had given City a 26th-minute lead with a sublime back-heeled finish from Kyle Walker's low cross but Pep Guardiola's side were soon rocked back on their heels.
Alexander Isak curled in an equaliser in the 35th minute and Anthony Gordon sent the home fans wild with another high-quality finish past City keeper Stefan Ortega, who had replaced the injured Ederson in the fifth minute.
City missed a series of chances in the second half as Newcastle edged towards a morale-boosting victory, but the mercurial De Bruyne's arrival made all the difference.
They have 43 points to Liverpool's 45 while Newcastle's fourth successive defeat left them in 10th spot.
Guardiola boasts an embarrassment of riches in his squad but the 32-year-old De Bruyne is simply irreplaceable and his return could not have come at a better time for City.
"I said thank you to him after," Norwegian 20-year-old Bobb, who displayed magic of his own to control De Bruyne's pass and score past Martin Dubravka, said of the Belgian's impact.
"He's the only one in the world who could do that. To play with him is great. Not only one of the greatest players in the Premier League, he's a very nice guy."
Newcastle had been furious after City's majestic opener, claiming that Gordon had been baulked by Ruben Dias at the other end of the pitch.
Their anger fuelled a stunning response with Isak latching on to Bruno Guimaraes's pass and bending a shot past Ortega.
City's high defensive line was exposed again when Gordon exacted revenge for his perceived injustice, beating Ortega with a pinpoint finish and had Isak buried another chance shortly afterwards the outcome might have been different.
City, however, ended up targeting a fourth successive title as Newcastle's season continues to crumble in alarming fashion.
