Disaster would have been if Eddie Howe had approached this Champions League last 16 tie, with Newcastle United having already accepted defeat to Barcelona in advance.
Disaster would have been if Newcastle United hadn’t had a go, if we were all now thinking: ‘What was the point of that, getting to within one step of the Champions League quarter-finals and wondering if only NUFC had given it a proper go, what could have potentially happened?’
Disaster would have been if Eddie Howe had approached these Barcelona games with a totally negative mindset. If the ‘plan’ was simply to defend for three hours in and around our own penalty area, relying on a miracle to not concede, whilst hoping that somehow his players would get up the other end of the pitch a handful of times, creating one or two chances across the two games.
Disaster would have been if Newcastle United had led the tie and then in the very final minute, Jacob Ramsey had put that tired shocking pass across the edge of his own penalty area to gift Barcelona a goal that led to United throwing away a place in the quarter-finals (as opposed to simply making it 7-2 not 6-2 on the night, 8-3 on aggregate and not 7-3).
Indeed, ‘disaster’ would have been if Newcastle United hadn’t qualified for the Champions League, having put together that brilliant run March-May 2025, where in a nine game Premier League run we saw Eddie Howe’s team win seven, draw one and lose only the one (whilst in the middle of that excellent run of Premier League results, they also picked up that trophy at Wembley).
It wasn’t a disaster, Eddie Howe set his team up perfectly for both Barcelona matches, at St James’ Park and the Nou Camp.
So good were the tactics, the team selection, the set-up, Newcastle United were comfortably the better team and should have taken a one or two goal lead into the second leg. As often happens in such huge games, we saw fine margins (Barnes hitting the post), luck and so on decide the actual result. Newcastle failed to take enough of their chances, Barcelona only had one tame effort on target all night, then they got their get out of jail penalty in added time, beyond the four minutes held up on the board.
In a lot of ways the first half at the Nou Camp was so similar, key moments and fine margins going against Eddie Howe’s side. The set up was once again perfect, the only change to the team (from the first leg) was Gordon in for Osula. Newcastle United imposed themselves from the first whistle and were the better team the first half. They scored two excellent goals of their own with flowing football, only to concede when two players slipped, then a woefully defended free-kick. This time, the last gasp penalty before the half-time whistle blew, proved crucial in the end. By the three-quarter point of this tie, Newcastle United should have been ahead, instead they were 4-3 down.
Nobody wants to lose 7-2 of course BUT this was a cup match and for me, once Barcelona scored six minutes after the break, the tie was done. I very obviously didn’t enjoy seeing further goals go in BUT our exit from the Champions League was already a done deal by that point.
When you are facing a team like Barcelona, you have to get pretty much everything right, if you are to defeat them.
For three-quarters of the tie this is what happened, apart from those key moments that saw Barcelona get the two penalties and the slip up goal and poorly defended free-kick that led to the other.
Eddie Howe couldn’t have done any more and it was simply a case of in the end, Barcelona quality took the tie away from Newcastle United, eventually.
For those wanting to belittle the Newcastle United defending, of course things fell apart in the final 45 minutes or so at the Nou Camp. However, as I said, this can happen when playing a team like Barcelona, they can punish you. In the Swiss League stage though, only Arsenal of the other 35 Champions League teams had a better defensive record, than the seven goals in eight games that Newcastle conceded.
Eddie Howe and his players have done us proud in the Champions League this season, ahead of this midweek exit, there had been 11 NUFC UCL matches played, with six wins, three draws and two defeats. A host of great memories, especially for the thousands of Newcastle United fans who travelled to the away matches.
The Champions League was anything but a disaster for Newcastle United this season.