City striker Sergio Aguero opened the grading, however his a centesimal Premier League goal wasn't enough to envision off battling port because the Magpies banked another precious purpose towards their survival fund.
The Argentina international glanced home associate 15th-minute header, albeit one that ought to are dominated out for offside , to succeed in his century in 147 appearances, a exploit bettered solely by Geordie hero Alan Shearer.
However, a 31st-minute equaliser from Vurnon Anita snatched a 1-1 draw that leaves town 5 points away from fifth-placed Manchester United and Rafael Benitez’s men 2 from safety with four games remaining.
Having taken the choice to drop Gregorian calendar month linguistic communication Jonjo Shelvey for Saturday’s conclusion over port, Benitez sent summer acquisition Georginio Wijnaldum to hitch him on the bench, the primary league game the Dutchman had didn't begin this season.
But with Vincent Kompany back at the guts of town defence, the conclusion the Spaniard thus urgently required looked a labor, and also the task became even sterner among quarter-hour of kick-off.