Man City 4 Newcastle 0

ROBERTO MANCINI’S side rediscovered their title- winning swagger to leave their fans wondering what might have been.

“Now we have eight Premier League games and an FA Cup semi-final so it’s important to have good form from our players.

“Vinny is important. We played without him for 60 days and it was very costly for us, like when we lost Yaya for one month for the African Nations Cup.

“There are some players who are very important. If they don’t play three, four, five games, it’s a big blow.”

TOP OF THE STOPS ... Rob Elliot denies Carlos Tevez

Mancini was furious with City’s last performance before the international break when they crashed 2-0 at Everton.

The Italian made five changes to his starting XI from that disappointing day at Goodison Park a fortnight ago.

This game took a while to warm up. A depleted Toon no doubt had one eye on Thursday’s Europa League trip to Benfica, while City were subdued after seeing United disappear further over the horizon in the early kick-off.

LUNGE ... Jonas Gutierrez dives in on Samir Nasri

And City could have been punished for their sleepy start as Papiss Cisse’s back-post volley from Vurnon Anita’s cross forced Joe Hart to save with his legs. It served as a wake-up call for the outgoing champs as Samir Nasri produced some smart wing play and Edin Dzeko’s shot was blocked by Rob Elliot in the Toon goal.

The rebound dropped perfectly for Gareth Barry but the England midfielder blazed high over the bar with the goal at his mercy.

City had a bit of momentum and Carlos Tevez flashed a free-kick just wide, while Edin Dzeko’s header was also narrowly off target.

SLIDE AWAY ... Carlos Tevez nets the opener from close range

Gael Clichy stung the palms of Elliot and then the French full-back teed-up the 41st-minute opener.

Some neat build-up play by Silva and Toure saw Clichy freed down the left and his low cross was turned in by Tevez, who just got his toe there ahead of Jonas Gutierrez.

It was a seventh goal in six matches for the Argentinian, whose season is really gathering pace. Newcastle were breached again in first-half injury time as Nasri showed some dazzling footwork to dance into the box.

CAR BLIMEY ... Carlos Tevez shows his relief

He laid it off to Silva and the Spaniard manoeuvred the ball on to his left foot before blasting a low shot past Elliot.

The visitors started the second half brightly and threatened to get back into it but City’s third was just around the corner.

Barry tried his luck from 20 yards and Kompany stuck out a leg to cleverly backheel it in from 12 yards with a finish a centre-forward would be proud of — if he meant it, that is.

SAINT DAVID ... Silva scores Manchester City's second

Toure was also in the news during the international break, with his agent claiming he will leave at the end of the season after contract talks stalled.

But the Ivorian showed his importance to City with a trademark storming run into the box.

He lined up a shot from a narrow angle, which took a flick off Perch to deceive Elliot, who could only help the ball into the roof of the net.

With their job done, City eased off and the end of the game was notable only for a frosty stand-off between Kompany and Mancini when the skipper was given a rest after 73 minutes.

SILVA LINING ... David Silva enjoys doubling the lead

When Newcastle beat Stoke on March 10, Alan Pardew suggested they had done enough to preserve top-flight football at St James’ Park.

You have to admire his confidence. Now they lie three points above the drop zone — and two teams below them, Wigan and Aston Villa, have a game in hand.

All of a sudden, Pards is not so sure and said: “I don’t think we were ever out of the relegation fight.

“Until you get to 40 points, you’re never out of it and we haven’t looked away from that.”