Manchester City youngster Nico O'Reilly could not contain his joy after his brace helped defeat Newcastle United and put the pressure on Arsenal in the Premier League title race.

The 20-year-old scored twice in the first half at the Etihad Stadium, on either side of Lewis Hall's deflected strike, to see Pep Guardiola's side win 2-1 on Saturday.

O'Reilly scored his first Premier League brace, on his 35th appearance in the competition, while also netting in consecutive home league games for the first time.

His opener was City's 500th Premier League goal at the Etihad under Guardiola; they have netted 68 more home goals than any other team in the competition since 2016-17.

Only Manchester United at Old Trafford under Alex Ferguson (910 goals) have scored more goals at one stadium in Premier League history.

With City now just two points behind Arsenal, who face Tottenham on Sunday, O'Reilly is eyeing a "dream" title.

"I'm over the moon. The win was the most important thing to close the gap and apply as much pressure as possible. Also, very happy with the two goals," O'Reilly told TNT Sports.

"It's a dream of mine to win something like this. There's still a lot of games to go. We need to take each game as it comes. I'm enjoying every moment and taking it all in.

"We always believe we can win games. We had a week break, so we were able to prepare for this game very well. We just need to keep going."

City won their 17th Premier League home game in a row against Newcastle and their 33rd overall against the Magpies – more wins than against any other opponent in the competition.

They have also won 16 of their last 19 Premier League home games (D2 L1), averaging 2.5 goals per game and conceding just 13 goals in total.

However, City were not at their dominant best throughout, and Guardiola expects each of their remaining 11 league games to be played in a similar fashion.

"Seventy per cent of the players have never been in that situation [close title race], and I don't play," the Spaniard told TNT Sports.

"So we have to live it; they know that every game will be like this. Especially at home, with five home games left.

"It was the best crowd of the year. It was unbelievable with our people, really proud to be manager of these incredible people and fans. Now we rest three days, we need it, and then we play Leeds [United]."