Newcastle miss out on Champions League top eight but show European pedigree with scintillating display against PSG
The Magpies played out a 1-1 draw against the current holder of the Champions League, with a performance that deserved more.
European champions Paris Saint-Germain are good at football. Very good, in fact. In last season’s final they annihilated Inter Milan by five goals to nil to win the competition. And yet, they had never managed a win against Newcastle United.
Just over two years ago, the Magpies made global headlines by defeating the Parisians 4-1 at St. James’ Park, before an extremely controversial 1-1 draw at the Parc des Princes in the reverse fixture. The controversy, of course, came when Polish referee Szymon Marciniak awarded a penalty to the home side deep in stoppage time for a very contentious handball on Tino Livramento.
Newcastle had led from the 24th minute when a certain Swedish striker had put them ahead, amidst a huge injury crisis that Eddie Howe’s then squad was suffering with. It was a night where Newcastle defended manfully and were cruelly hurt so late on.
With the two sides meeting again in the newly reformatted Champions League in the French capital, the stakes were high. Both sides were looking to finish in the top eight places of the league phase of the competition and avoid the two extra games of the play-off round.
Ultimately, neither side made it, owing to another 1-1 draw between the two. As potentially frustrating as that might be for Newcastle, their performance to a man was magnificent.
This came despite the input of the referee on this occasion, Slavko Vincic, who picked up the textbook of Marciniak in the same stadium in 2023, by awarding a penalty to PSG inside the opening two minutes. Once again it came from a handball decision that was incredibly harsh. Lewis Miley was the unlucky offender, but justice was served as Nick Pope made a sharp save from Ousmane Dembélé.
However, the Magpies were behind shortly after, when Vitinha was offered too much space on the edge of the box, and found the bottom corner past Pope. That was a blow that would have seen many sides wilt, given the opposition. Not Newcastle though.
They steadily grew into the game despite further baffling decisions from referee Vincic. Anthony Elanga was booked despite the Newcastle winger being awarded a foul for a challenge by Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, and Joe Willock was penalised for shoulder to shoulder challenge on Achraf Hakimi.
There was also a penalty shout for Newcastle, after Marquinhos appeared to make contact with the ball with his arm in the area, but given the history, Newcastle being the beneficiaries of such a decision seemed unlikely.
At the break, however, the scores were level. Dan Burn won a header in the box from a free kick, before an onrushing Joe Willock headed the loose ball into the net. Cue a signature knee slide from Willock and pandemonium in the away end.
Into the second 45 and it was the visitors who carried all of the threat. Jacob Ramsey went close early on, before Anthony Gordon and Harvey Barnes were introduced to further torment the PSG back line. Gordon ran the line brilliantly, seeing one effort saved, and twice setting up Barnes, who also saw a shot parried away, before agonisingly slicing an attempt just wide when the goal beckoned.
That second effort from Barnes came in the final minutes and if it had found the net, would have been enough to see Newcastle win and move into the top eight. Not to be, but a performance to be proud of for Eddie Howe’s side. Away against the European champions they had shown up and probably should have won.
Many times have the words ‘springboard’ and ‘catalyst’ been used in regard to Newcastle this season. On each occasion, the momentum built by a good performance and result has not lasted long enough. This could well be the one though, the one that creates momentum that does not fizzle out. It was not a win but it deserved one, against a side of the highest quality.