Eddie Howe and Newcastle United exited the Champions League on Wednesday night in Barcelona.
The United boss watching on as his team took the game to the hosts, only for defensive mistakes to undermine a very good first half.
Newcastle United hitting back twice to equalise, the penalty on the stroke of half-time was probably the key moment.
Eddie Howe reflecting: “The great disappointment was that we didn’t defend at the level we can. I’m not sure we recovered psychologically from what happened just before half-time, when conceding the penalty.”
Asked about the penalty award after VAR intervened: “I would need to see it again when I’m in a more controlled state before giving an opinion on it.”
This Champions League adventure is now over.
However, Eddie Howe keen to stress after losing 7-2 on the night, 8-3 on aggregate: “The final scoreline wasn’t reflective of how we have played across the tie. Or what the players and fans have experienced. The Champions League is where we want to be. Our fans were terrific tonight and there was a real bond between them and the players.”
Newcastle United now out of the competition after having played 12 Champions League games.
Eddie Howe analysing what happened: “A tough way to go out. It is really strange to try and sum that up because first half I thought we were excellent, albeit without defending the key moments well enough. In the second half, nowhere near as good as we were in the first and as a result Barcelona deservedly go through. There was a dip in our performance after half-time and I don’t think we defended well enough in the build-up to their penalty. We should have been going in full of energy and enthusiasm after the first half at 2-2. Psychologically, it was a tough one for the lads. The penalty right before half-time and scored quite quickly after half-time and psychologically, we didn’t recover.”
Barcelona look nailed on to retain their La Liga title and potentially better last season’s Champions League semi-final exit.
Eddie Howe on the team that knocked United out: “It is hard to play against them but in the first half we controlled it relatively well. A lot of counter-attack opportunities, great representation of how we play. Among all the good play though, we gave them two goals.”
A relentless schedule now comes next to an ‘interesting’ match, following the Champions League defeat.
Sunderland on Sunday at St James’ Park and Eddie Howe declaring: “We have a massive game on Sunday and so no time to dwell or feel sorry for ourselves. Huge game for our city and club, we need to focus on that.”