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Season 2023-24
PSG (France) (h) Champions League Group Match 2

 


Date:
Wednesday 4th October 2023, 8.00pm
Live on TNT Sports

Venue:
St. James' Park

Conditions: Perfect

Admission: £55 and upwards

 


 

Newcastle

PSG

 

4 - 1

 

 

Teams

Goals

17 mins A poor Marquinhos clearance was headed by Bruno Guimaraes to Alexander Isak and his first time shot from inside the box was saved by Gianluigi Donnarumma. Miguel Almiron coolly converted the rebound into the Leazes End goal. 1-0


Paris is Burn-ing

39 mins Kieran Trippier's free kick into the area was sent goalwards by a combination of Sandro Tonali and an opponent but was clawed away by Donnarumma. Falling to Bruno on the left of the six yard box he tried to beat the PSG 'keeper at his near post - receiving the ball back via Tonali when that was blocked and then picking out Dan Burn with a perfect cross.

He powered past Milan Skriniar to plant a header in the net that Donnarumma palmed away from behind the line, only for a raised offside flag to stifle celebrations. Following a prolonged VAR check however, Bruno was correctly adjudged not to have been offside and the goal stood. 2-0

Half time: Magpies 2 PSG 0

50 mins Sean Longstaff dashed in from the right to meet Trippier's measured pass and saw his first-time effort end up in the Gallowgate End net via the 'keeper's hand. Replays showed Sean's shot was probably just creeping inside the far post had Donnarumma not deflected it in. 3-0

56 mins A neat cross from Warren Zaire-Emery allowed Lucas Hernandez to glance a header past Nick Pope. Another VAR review confirmed he was just onside. 3-1

90+1 mins Fabian Schar won the ball deep in PSG's half and swapped passes with Jacob Murphy before curling a 20 yarder into the top corner of the goal as he slipped over. Incredible. 4-1

Full time: Magpies 4 PSG 1


les garçons Geordie se foutent de la pisse

We Said

 


Eddie Howe et Jason Tindall

 

Eddie Howe said:

"An amazing evening for us.

"So many stories to talk about within the game itself, but just first and foremost, delighted for everyone connected with the club. What the supporters gave us tonight was incredible.

"They are such a good team. We had to defend really well and we did. I thought, collectively, our sprit and our energy was excellent.

"We created the positive things we had in the first half from really aggressive pressing, everything that's a hallmark of ours when we play well Then, second half we had to dig deep and get over the line.

"I’m so pleased with the players for what they gave tonight. It was a difficult game tactically, PSG try to play from the back, so we had to unbalance and unsettle them.

"We were man for man at the back against elite players and they had some moments when they hurt us in what, I thought, was an even game but our goals came at good moments. 

"To score four times against PSG in front of our supporters made it a really special night. 


"I really do respect the Geordies. Their lifelong associations with the club, they have a unique understanding of what it means to play for Newcastle. That is so important for us behind the scenes.

"For Sean and Dan, these are amazing moments in their careers. But it is also a great lesson for us not to get ahead of ourselves. We keep going and take nothing for granted.”

"The atmosphere was very special, I knew it would be. There was an extra level tonight, I can’t thank the supporters enough. I hope there are a lot more nights like this to come. It is a very special night for all of us.

"We hope that gives us that belief we need to be successful. Against Milan there was an element of us not quite hitting the levels we are capable of, but only by doing this can you truly prove [you belong at this level]. Hopefully this goes a long way towards that."

On Jamaal Lascelles:

"I'm so pleased for Jamaal. He's stepped up really well in the last few games. His game's in a really good place and I think he proved that tonight."

They Said

 

Luis Enrique - part of the Barcelona side beaten at SJP in 1997 - said:

"It was a difficult night. I don't think we deserved that kind of result but they were so effective in the last part of the pitch and we made some mistakes.

"At that level, it's always difficult to accept that, but when you make mistakes, you pay for it.

"I think the idea to welcome their pressure worked. We tried to put in front of their goal the most chances as possible, but we didn't work so effectively there."

Stats



United recorded their biggest victory in the Group Stage of the Champions League and netted more than three goals in a competitive European fixture for the seventeenth time in 136 attempts.

There were Champions League debuts for Jamaal Lascelles and Matt Targett, who became the sixteenth and seventeenth players to be used by Newcastle this season in the competition.

Miguel Almiron is the first Magpie to net in the CL since Nolberto Solano in Belgrade in August 2003. That was a qualifier; the last Group Stage scorer was Alan Shearer in Milan in April 2003. Al was also the last home CL scorer before tonight - against Bayer Leverkusen in February 2003.

Miggy now has 28 goals for Newcastle in all competitions and has scored in the PL, FA, LC and CL.

Dan Burn struck his fourth league and cup goal for the club and matched his best seasonal total as a Magpie, which is two. He's the first Toon defender to score a CL goal since Andy Griffin versus Juventus at the same end of SJP back in October 2002. 

Sean Longstaff moved on to 10 goals in all competitions with his second of the season. He has also now scored in the PL, FA, LC and CL as a Magpie.

Fabian Schar now has 11 goals, tonight his first in any cup competition. His strike following on from Burn made tonight the first time that two defenders have found the net in any European tie for Newcastle.

Nick Pope's shutout record ended at 526 minutes in all competitions.

NUFC in the Champions League @ SJP:

1997/98 Croatia Zagreb won 2-1
1997/98 Barcelona won 3-2
1997/98 PSV lost 0-2
1997/98 Dynamo Kiev won 2-0
2002/03 Zeljeznicar won 4-0
2002/03 Feyenoord lost 0-1
2002/03 Juventus won 1-0
2002/03 Dynamo Kiev won 2-1
2002/03 Inter Milan lost 1-4
2002/03 Bayer Leverkusen won 3-1
2002/03 Barcelona lost 0-2
2003/04 Partizan Belgrade lost 0-1 (lost 3-4 pens)
2023/24 PSG won 4-1

This is the seventh occasion that a side from the French league has played competitively at SJP:

1977/78 Bastia lost 1-2 (UE)
1996/97 Metz won 2-0 (UE)
1996/97 Monaco lost 0-1 (UE)
2001/02 Troyes drew 4-4 (IC)
2003/04 Marseille drew 0-0 (UE)
2012/13 Bordeaux won 3-0 (EU)
2023/24 PSG (h) won 4-1 (CL)

The Magpies are unbeaten in their most recent 15 competitive European home games, since a 1-2 Intertoto Cup loss to Deportivo La Coruna in 2005:

2006/07
Lillestrøm drew 1-1 Luque (IC)
2006/07 FK Ventspils drew 0-0 (UE)
2006/07 Levadia Tallinn won 2-1 Martins 2 (UE)
2006/07 Fenerbahce won 1-0 Sibierski (UE)
2006/07 Celta Vigo won 2-1 Sibierski, S.Taylor (UE)
2006/07 Zulte Waregem won 1-0 Martins (UE)
2006/07 Alkmaar won 4-2 OG, Dyer, Martins 2 (UE)
2012/13 Atromitos won 1-0 Vuckic (EU)
2012/13 Bordeaux won 3-0 Ameobi, OG, Cisse (EU)
2012/13 Brugge won 1-0 Obertan (EU)
2012/13 Maritimo drew 1-1 Marveaux (EU)
2012/13 Metalist Kharkiv drew 0-0 (EU)
2012/13 Anji Makhachkala won 1-0 Cisse (EU)
2012/13 Benfica drew 1-1 Cisse (EU)
2023/24 PSG won 4-1 Almiron, Burn, Longstaff, Schar
 

Waffle

In the words of Eddie Howe, there were so many stories as Champions League football returned to Tyneside in the most memorable fashion imaginable on Wednesday night.

An incredible Newcastle performance left PSG battered, bruised and ultimately well beaten; their star man Kylian Mbappe largely nullified by a defence including Jamaal Lascelles - a European debutant in his ninth season at the club, just weeks before his 30th birthday.

The oft-maligned Miggy Almiron started the party with a second goal in as many games, before local heroes Dan Burn and Sean Longstaff struck to follow Alan Shearer into Geordie folklore. And after the visitors had got one back with a momentary outbreak of precision passing, an outrageous effort from Fabian Schar sent SJP into orbit. Like Old Trafford in 1998, the stands were physically moving. 
 
And at the end of it all, there were more cheers before Status Quo blared out of the speakers and those inside the ground took up the refrain of "Eddie Howe and Jason Tindall". From Longbenton to London and Lagos, those unable to be here meanwhile were quite literally rocking all over the world, as the reigning French league champions suffered their largest European loss since 2004.

Despite Joelinton and Callum Wilson joining Sven Botman and Joe Willock on the injured list, United set about their task with relish and pressed as if their lives depended on it. That willingness to get stuck in resulted in Alexander Isak sporting a bandage in the style of George Reilly after sustaining a cut head, while there were full-throttled contributions from Sandro Tonali and Bruno Guimaraes on a night when man of the match displays abounded.

Mbappe crossed for Ousmane Dembele to volley narrowly wide early on, but for all their impressive possession stats and style PSG didn't dominate the tie and were clearly rocked by falling behind.

Schar then smashed a first time effort agonisingly wide from a corner before Burn's second left sparked an unprecedented release of joy, the drama heightened by the delay in giving the goal. 

Corporate types were still returning to their seats for the second half when Longstaff restarted the fun, Lobby's raised arm and finger celebration an echo of Asprilla's here back in 1997.

Reality threatened to intervene when the visitors quickly got one back, amid fears that the old Newcastle would resurface and we'd manage to screw this up. Some solid defensive work though kept Mbappe & Co. at bay and Pope was well protected - although causing consternation with a succession of kicks straight into the East Stand. We even wondered if it was deliberate.  

A quite remarkable evening when SJP was rocked by frequent explosions of Geordie joy reached a crescendo when Schar took aim and curled in a picture book strike. That finally caused the drum to stop beating in the PSG end, while delighted home followers began waving their flags again.  

Elsewhere on Wednesday, Borussia Dortmund played out a 0-0 draw with AC Milan in Germany - a result that leaves Newcastle top of Group F. It's all new and wonderful for players and manager alike, who now have a Champions League victory under their collective belts in a manner that defies logic. 

In terms of the excitement levels generated on one of the greatest nights of our supporting lives here, only the visit of Champions League visit of Barcelona in 1997 comes remotely close - and even then, that wasn't quite the same spectacle as the sea of black and white at kickoff time tonight.

Fairs Cup-winning boss Joe Harvey once spoke about this crowd coming alive for European football and tonight was a prime example of that - an awesome sight and sound that was a privilege to experience and had the desired effect on the opposition. Every block, tackle and intervention was greeted with roars of approval as fans leapt to their feet - and the fortress became a bear pit.

From an unremittingly awful defeat at Wolves two years ago to this is some journey; for Longstaff and Miggy to have played at Molineux that day and score here tonight frankly beggars belief. 

Only time will tell whether results like tonight are glorious one-offs in the manner of the Howay 5-0 night or the start of something more meaningful, but d
on't let anyone tell you that it's all about money. That team that we all want to try really did succeed tonight. Just glorious.

Biffa


A tale of two cities



Page last updated 26 October, 2023