Newcastle marked their first home game in the Champions League since 2003 in some style, thrashing Paris Saint-Germain 4-1 in front of a rocking St James’ Park crowd. It was a result that sent shockwaves through the entire footballing world, and one that ensured Eddie Howe’s side sat top of Group F with four points after two matches.
That fateful October night should have been the start of something special. The Magpies returned to Europe’s flagship competition after a 20-year absence on the back of a hard-earned fourth place Premier League finish in 2022-23, only to be cruelly drawn against PSG, AC Milan and Borussia Dortmund.
After overpowering the French champions in such impressive fashion, for an all-too brief moment, Newcastle looked like they could defy all the odds by winning the so-called ‘Group of Death’. PSG have underachieved in the Champions League for many years, but very few teams have blown them away, or indeed managed to keep Kylian Mbappe quiet.
From that position, Newcastle really should have qualified for the last-16, or at the very least secured a third-place spot that would have seen them playing Europa League football in the new year. Alas, by the end of their last group game against Milan, their continental dream was up in smoke, with second-half goals from Christian Pulisic and Samuel Chukwueze giving the Italian giants a 2-1 victory on Tyneside.
The question is: how did it all go so wrong? Well, there is no doubt that bad luck played a role, with controversial VAR decisions and an unprecedented injury crisis forcing Howe to rip up his usual playbook.
But the reality is, Newcastle only have themselves to blame for a disastrous end to their European campaign, and more misery will be on the cards unless Howe takes drastic measures to address their alarming recent decline…
“It’s not beyond our wildest dreams because we did have some wild dreams.” The famous words of the late Sir Bobby Robson were displayed on a huge banner for the whole Newcastle squad to see in the Gallowsgate End just before kick-off against Milan on Wednesday night, which combined with the iconic Champions League anthem, provided the players with an injection of pure motivation.
They rose to the occasion initially, with Joelinton’s 33rd minute thunderbolt deservedly giving Newcastle the lead and putting them in the driving seat for the runners’ up spot in the group. There was another huge roar from the crowd early in the second-half, too, as news filtered through of Karim Adeyemi’s opener for Borussia Dortmund against PSG at Signal Iduna Park.
PSG swiftly got themselves level via a goal from 17-year-old sensation Warren Zaïre-Emery, but at that stage, Newcastle just had to stay calm and protect their advantage. They’d done a good job of holding off Milan and the general mood in the stands at St James’ Park was still one of optimism.
But only a few minutes later, Milan were level, with USMNT star Christian Pulisic turning a clever pass from Oliver Giroud into the net from close range. Newcastle allowed Rafael Leao to get in behind on the left-flank for the initial cross into the box far too easily, and their static defence was duly punished.
That goal changed the entire dynamic of the night for Newcastle, who then had no choice but to get on the front-foot and go all-out for the crucial winning goal that would give them fresh hope of qualification for the last-16. They had their moments, with Bruno Guimaraes coming agonisingly close to scoring with a fine curling effort from outside the box that was tipped onto the bar by Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan, but the Serie A side always looked ready to hit again on the counter.
Newcastle survived one scare as Leao struck the post after being played through on-one-one with Martin Dubravka, but with just seven minutes remaining, Milan got their inevitable second goal. The Rossoneri turned defence to attack in the blink of an eye once again, and this time Chukwueze provided the finish, brilliantly placing a first time-shot into the far corner.
