It was a miserable night in Marseille for Newcastle United and Eddie Howe, and the French press have told the Magpies exactly how it all went wrong.
Despite going into the game full of confidence after beating Man City at the weekend, Newcastle United threw away a one-goal lead at half-time against Marseille to lose 2-1.
It all fell apart in a five-minute spell of chaos after the break, with former Arsenal and Chelsea man Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scoring both of Marseille’s goals.
Who was the most DISAPPOINTING Newcastle player vs Marseille?
While Eddie Howe insisted Newcastle are stretched by competing in multiple competitions, fans have pointed the finger at the decision to play Anthony Gordon up front.
It’s a result that put Newcastle’s Champions League hopes on the line, but at least Howe will have no trouble finding advice as to where he went wrong.
- READ MORE: Three losers and two winners from Marseille 2-1 Newcastle including Nick Pope and Anthony Gordon
Newcastle United player ratings from French press
The match report from L’Equipe was pretty scathing on Newcastle United’s part, with a 6/10 score the best that any player received.
On Newcastle’s performance, the French outlet wrote: “The Magpies started intensely, quickly rewarded by Harvey Barnes’ goal in the 6th minute, his 4th of the season in the Champions League.
“But the plan, based on a deep-lying 5-4-1 formation, spearheaded by the isolated Sandro Tonali and Joe Willock, only lasted one half, initially thanks to Marseille’s poor finishing.
“Anthony Gordon also missed valuable opportunities in transition. Then Nick Pope, alert until then, reignited the game with his inexplicable clearance for the equaliser, and his defence remained passive on the 2-1 goal.”
Admittedly, Nick Pope’s error was pivotal, and it’s understandable that he was given a 3/10 score from L’Equipe.
Gordon got a 4, as did Tino Livramento, Dan Burn, Fabian Schar, and Jacob Murphy. Bruno Guimaraes and Malick Thiaw got a 5 out of 10, while Harvey Barnes, Joe Willock, and Tonali scored a 6.
Where it all went wrong for Newcastle United vs Marseille
Howe got plenty right against Man City, but essentially got it all wrong against Marseille. His team selection was wrong, the formation didn’t work, and the Magpies lost their intensity immediately after the break.
Most people rightly blamed Pope for that moment of madness, but it was a case of everyone across the board failing to perform.
What was Nick Pope thinking?
You can see from our Newcastle player ratings from the game that no one covered themselves in glory.
Howe has to take a portion of the blame, though. He needed to take risks against Marseille, and instead the Newcastle United manager lined up very defensively and it backfired.
We need to see more courage and a big improvement against Everton now.
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