The goalkeeper was beaten by brilliant strikes from England internationals Raheem Sterling and Kyle Walker, either side of DeAndre Yedlin's well-worked team goal for the Magpies.

And while the Slovakian stopper had a busy evening at the Etihad, he felt that United still made life extremely difficult for Pep Guardiola's side.

"There was a lot to do today but we have to say we were playing against a very quality team," Dúbravka told nufc.co.uk. "We knew it would be a tough game for us, but actually we stood up well and created good moments.

"We played as a team - that's important - and showed a great attitude, great team spirit, but unfortunately for us we didn't score one more goal."

Sterling put City ahead inside the opening eight minutes but Newcastle refused to lie down and levelled through Yedlin.

And Dúbravka admitted: "I think it was very important for us how we reacted. We went for the goal and I'm very proud of my team mates.

"We are sad because we felt we could probably take a point, even if they are a top class team with a top manager.

"I think it was a very close game. Of course we defended, but you can't play 90 minutes open with them, because they are brilliant quality players."

Walker's second-half thunderbolt ultimately proved decisive but Dúbravka made several saves during the game, including a tremendous triple-stop which saw him deny Fernandinho before keeping out two efforts from David Silva.

"Of course I'm happy for that, but it doesn't mean that much when you lose," insisted the goalkeeper.

"It's good, because that's how a goalkeeper builds confidence and I can build on these kinds of saves, but unfortunately we lost."