Given they have as good as sprinted the second half of a marathon, there is no great shame in Newcastle's race appearing to be run.
They have been on TV in recent weeks more so because of interest in the opposition, and not because of wider fascination in their own top-flight peril. Such jeopardy evaporated in early March when they took 20 points from 24. For that, they deserve enormous credit.
But even allowing for tired limbs and fuzzy minds, afternoons such as this at Manchester City - as well as last weekend's 1-0 defeat by Liverpool - do serve as a reminder of how far Newcastle must journey before they are considered genuine rivals of such opponents.