Rondón upbeat despite City setback

United trailed to Raheem Sterling’s goal early on, but – after soaking up a considerable amount of City pressure – they levelled on the half-hour mark through DeAndre Yedlin, who converted Rondón’s centre after a lung-busting run.

It took a rasping strike from Kyle Walker to condemn the Magpies to another narrow loss, their third by a 2-1 scoreline in their first four Premier League outings.

Rondón, however, felt that United weren’t too far away from executing their game-plan against Pep Guardiola’s champions, who put six goals past Huddersfield Town in their opening home game a fortnight ago.

“It was a really good performance against a good team, but we lost the game and we have to keep working,” he told nufc.co.uk. “We tried to close every single space, and that made it difficult for them to play the (final) pass – the ball behind our defenders. Our defensive tactic and plan was good. We were unlucky to concede two goals, but that’s football – you give a chance to them, and they can score. They are a really, really good team.

“We have to keep going – that is the only way to change the situation. The confidence is the most important thing in this sport. We just have to start not conceding goals, and continue our positive performances, our positive things, and keep looking forward.”

The Magpies have a fortnight’s wait before they return to Premier League action, with Venezuelan Rondón among a string of players heading off to link up with their countries for the international break.

But, having struck for the first time as a Newcastle player in Wednesday night’s Carabao Cup defeat to Nottingham Forest, the frontman is already targeting a first win of the campaign for United when they take on Arsenal at St. James’ Park.

“I travel to Miami on Sunday, and we play against Colombia, and then we play Panama in Panama. I am thinking about my national team, but I am also thinking about the next game, against Arsenal, and I will be ready when I get back,” he said.

“You want to settle as quickly as possible, and of course, it is important to score goals, but the most important thing is the result, and goals do not matter as much if we lose – it’s more important to win three points. We have to keep working, looking forward and be ready (for the Arsenal game) as soon as possible.”