A moment of madness from Nick Pope cost Newcastle United in the Champions League against Marseille.
After a strong first half performance at the Stade Velodrome, Newcastle United went on to lose 2-1.
A Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang brace blew away Harvey Barnes’ opener, as Eddie Howe’s side lost in the Champions League for the second time this season.
Newcastle’s second half performance was simply not good enough, and it all stemmed from Nick Pope’s shocking error within 20 seconds of the restart.
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How Nick Pope tried to put Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang off after Champions League error
The 33-year-old needlessly rushed off his line to try and intercept a through ball to Aubameyang. Malick Thiaw tried to tell Pope not to, but by then it was too late.
As Pope rushed out, Aubameyang skipped past him. From that moment, all he had to do was find the net from a rather challenging angle.
Immediately after his mistake, Pope did try to make up for it. The England international could be seen screaming at Aubameyang moments before he shot, clearly trying to put the 36-year-old off.
It was a desperate attempt to atone for his error, but it was all in vain. The former Arsenal forward showed ridiculous composure, converting from an incredibly tight angle to make it 1-1.
He scored again just moments later, as Marseille beat Newcastle United to record their first Champions League victory over an English side since 2010.
What was Nick Pope thinking?
Nick Pope’s risky strategy worked for Newcastle United against Marseille
There is no way you can justify Pope’s error in judgement against Marseille. It was a cataclysmic error, with Anthony Gordon putting his head in his hands immediately after.
That summed up the situation, but it was just days before that Pope’s decision to rush off his line saved the Magpies.
Minutes into Newcastle vs Manchester City, Erling Haaland was played through on goal. Pope decided to rush out of his box and face up the Norwegian striker, which was enough to put him off. Haaland missed the chance, as Newcastle went on to win 2-1.
Pope’s decision to rush out in that instance was the correct one, but it was the complete opposite against Marseille on Tuesday night.
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