00:00A war-flags display and atmosphere to be proud of at St James' Park on the opening night of Newcastle United's Champions League campaign.
00:09But it wasn't enough to see the Magpies defeat Spanish champions Barcelona, who came away with a 2-1 victory.
00:16Ultimately, the game was decided by two moments of quality from Marcus Rashford, of all people.
00:22The Englishman's header and then strike from range was enough to give Barcelona a two-goal advantage in the second half,
00:27which they were able to hang on to, despite a late flurry from the home side towards the end, following Anthony Gordon's goal, which halved the deficit.
00:36Newcastle had certainly started the game with intensity and created several openings in the first period.
00:42But, as has been the case on a number of occasions now this season, the lack of an out-and-out striker leading the line is very much missing when it comes to being clinical from close range.
00:51Nick Valtemarta did make an appearance from the substitutes bench in the second half, following his winning goal, but then subsequent cramp against Wolves on Saturday.
01:01But, perhaps the game would have been different if he was on the pitch to put those chances away.
01:07Not to be, though. So, let's go back through the game to see exactly how Barcelona managed to win on Tyneside for the second time in the Champions League.
01:16Newcastle's pace in attack created the early chances. Anthony Gordon missed a shot in the middle of the area before Harvey Barnes saw an effort saved by the Barcelona goalkeeper.
01:28Newcastle were pressing high and with intensity, but Barcelona soon managed to get on the ball and slow the occasion down.
01:36The first half ended with the away side having the lion's share of possession, but not much potency.
01:42But, that came early in the second half when Marcus Rashford headed home.
01:46And then, he added a second for his team, striking in off the crossbar from outside of the box.
01:53Newcastle weren't beaten just yet, though, and their supporters rallied them forwards.
01:58Anthony Gordon scored a late goal just before stoppage time to give the Magpies hope, but ultimately it was too little too late.
02:06But, anyhow, we're still pleased with how his side played.
02:09A lot of effort, a lot of commitment, a lot of heart from the players.
02:14Although it was a good performance without being a great one to beat Barcelona, I think it needs to be a great one.
02:19And, yeah, we had the chances. Two big moments in that first half we didn't take.
02:23And, ultimately, when you concede the first goal, the game swings on that moment.
02:27We obviously tried to make it difficult for Barcelona to settle into the game.
02:32We wanted to try and regain the ball high if they played out from the back.
02:36I thought we had good success with that. I was pretty pleased.
02:39We knew there'd be phases also in the game where we'd have to defend a little bit lower.
02:43We'd have to be good in defending space.
02:46And, relatively pleased with that as well until the first goal, really.
02:50The first goal's a big moment.
02:52We don't mark.
02:53Firstly, we don't stop the cross.
02:54And then we don't mark well enough in the box.
02:56And we concede.
02:58I think when you're chasing the game against them, that becomes very difficult because they can exploit gaps that maybe you wouldn't have left previously.
03:05So, that was probably the most challenging part of the game for us.
03:07First is Champions League.
03:09Second is a fantastic atmosphere.
03:11And the third, the team, Newcastle, is also doing a great job.
03:15So, they are, I would say, they're a strong team.
03:18They're a tall team.
03:20Every set piece was not easy to defend.
03:22But I really appreciate a lot how we do it.
03:25And, of course, we control the match.
03:27We control the game.
03:29And, for me, I'm really happy to see what we are doing today.
03:34How the performance was.
03:36And this is, for me, really good to see that.
03:40Newcastle will certainly take heart from the fact that despite some players having off days and Barcelona almost passing them to death at times,
03:48the Magpies did still carry something of a threat, highlighted by Gordon's late strike.
03:54And, of course, the atmosphere that was created inside of St James' Park was something special indeed.
04:00Eddie Howe and his players will likely fancy their chances against the likes of Benfica, PSV Eindhoven and Athletic Bilbao.
04:07Those fixtures are in the future, though.
04:10And, for now, Newcastle's attention will immediately return to the Premier League and a trip to the south coast to face Bournemouth on Sunday afternoon.
04:20Rotation will be needed to ensure that players are fresh with a Carabao Cup tie against Bradford City just a few short days after that.
04:28This is going to be a long and arduous season for Newcastle.
04:32And, whilst they may not have passed this test, more opportunities lie in wait.
04:37The real challenge is making sure that they can compete properly on all fronts for the remainder of the season.
Comments