The Magpies rounded off their league-phase campaign with a superb 1-1 draw against the reigning European champions, Paris St Germain, in the Parc des Princes, shrugging off a torrid opening ten minutes in which they conceded a goal and a controversial penalty to more than match their opponents for the remainder of the game.
Joe Willock’s equaliser on the stroke of half-time briefly lifted them back into the top eight, which would have put them straight through to the last 16, and while Anthony Gordon and Harvey Barnes both missed late chances for a winner, Newcastle still emerged from the French capital with considerable credit.
Unlike two seasons ago, when a 1-1 draw with PSG formed part of a Champions League campaign that ended at the group phase, Eddie Howe’s side have successfully reached the knockout rounds of the competition for the first time in Newcastle’s history.
They will face either Monaco or Qarabag in the last-16, with their opponents due to be confirmed at tomorrow’s play-off draw, and while they might be the only English Champions League side not to have finished in the top eight, Dan Burn still feels Newcastle’s players and staff should take a huge amount of pride from what they have achieved so far.
“We would have loved to have gone through directly and not had those two extra games,” said Burn, who made his first start for a month-and-a-half against PSG. “But it’s the first time in the club’s history that we’ve got to the knockout stages of the Champions League, so I think we’ve got to see that as something to be very proud of.
“It gives us the confidence to go into this huge run of games that we’ve got coming up now. I thought we performed really well, going toe-to-toe with probably the best team in the world.”
Nick Pope echoed Burn’s sentiments, highlighting both Newcastle’s achievements in taking a point from last year’s Champions League winners and making it through to the knockout stages for the first time.
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‘They couldn’t have done any more’ – reflections on Newcastle’s draw with Paris St Germain
A 2-1 home defeat to Barcelona in their opening league-phase game meant Newcastle had ground to make up from the word go, but a 4-0 thrashing of Union Saint-Gilloise in Brussels immediately improved their position.
Back-to-back home wins over Benfica and Athletic Bilbao formed the bedrock of the Magpies’ successful league campaign, and while November 2-1 loss in Marseille, which saw Howe’s side concede two goals in four chaotic second-half minutes, was a blip, taking four points from games against Bayer Leverkusen and PSV Eindhoven secured a play-off place at worst.
Had Newcastle beaten PSG, they would have made the top eight, but matching arguably the best team in Europe for all bar the opening ten minutes of last night’s game was still a huge achievement.
“Before we started the campaign, we looked at qualifying for knockout football,” said Pope. “That’s what we’ve got, and it’s a really good sign that we’ve put on a top Champions League away performance before we’ve got to the knockout stages. We played against a top team, so there’s loads of positives we can take into the next round.
“It was a difficult start to the game, I think we can agree, but obviously away from home in the Champions League against a top, top team, you expect difficult moments. I think we showed great character within the group to get through that and get the goal just before half-time and we always felt that the longer the game went on, we could get chances to win the game.
“That’s how it panned out really. We obviously came into the game thinking we needed a win, so that was always in the back of our minds. We just couldn’t quite get the ball over the line at the end.”
Nevertheless, Pope can revel in a successful penalty save from Ousmane Dembele – “I picked a way and was happy enough that he went that way and I could keep it out,” said the goalkeeper. “I’m pleased with that one” – and Burn can take satisfaction in successfully coming through 90 minutes and showing no ill effects from the rib and lung injuries that wrecked his winter.
“To be honest, I was a little bit anxious before the game,” admitted the centre-half. “I think that injury did shake me up a little bit, it was something I’d never had before. I was really happy when the first whistle went because I just sort of settled back into my routine and didn’t really think about it.
“I don’t remember taking any knocks, so I was happy about that. It was strange, probably the first time I’ve gone into a game slightly worried that I was going to get hurt again. I was happy to get through.”