Newcastle United followed up their Champions League win over Benfica with victory against Fulham, but it was hard work.
The Magpies were nowhere near their best on Saturday, needing a 90th minute winner from Bruno Guimaraes to get the job done. But the most important thing is they did, with Newcastle United beating Fulham 2-1 to climb up to 12th in the Premier League.
Eddie Howe will wish his side were higher up the table, but he will also be very happy with how they have performed in the Champions League. They have got six points from a possible nine, and are very much on course to advance to the next stage of the competition.
Juggling European and domestic football is immensely challenging, and it is something Newcastle United failed to do last time they were in the Champions League. This time they appear to be coping a bit better, but Alan Shearer still has his concerns.
Alan Shearer says European football is difficult for Newcastle United to deal with
Speaking on the latest episode of the Rest Is Football podcast, Gary Lineker asked Alan Shearer if he believes European football is proving to be ‘difficult’ to deal with for Newcastle United.
“Yeah, I think it is,” he said.
“I think even if you’ve got the biggest of squads, to play European football with the emotion, how draining it is and everything else. Yeah, it does [have an impact]. There’s no doubt about it.
“The game after a European week, you’ve just got to get the result no matter how you get it. You’ve just got to get it. So Newcastle did that.
“So it was a big three points and hopefully they can get their league season going now.”
So far this season, Newcastle United have followed up their three Champions League games with two wins and a draw. The latter was a 0-0 draw against Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium, which has to go down as a positive result.
While the Magpies’ performances have not been at their free-flowing best domestically after playing in the Champions League, they are getting results and putting points on the board. That is the most important thing, with Shearer praising Newcastle United for getting the job done by any means necessary.
They will hope to continue doing that, with five more Champions League games to come between now and the end of January.
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How Newcastle United performed in the Premier League after a Champions League game last time
Newcastle’s last Champions League campaign was blighted by injury. The Newcastle United squad could not cope, with Eddie Howe barely having an option to even make a substitution in games.
However, when it came to playing in the Premier League immediately after a Champions League fixture, the Magpies did not perform too badly during the 2023/24 season.
From their six post-Champions League games, Newcastle picked up 11 points from a possible 18. Their only defeat was away to Bournemouth, while there were draws on the road to West Ham and Wolves.
Their record was not bad at all, but the impact of playing in so many different competitions certainly took its toll.
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