Graeme Souness once claimed that Newcastle were only ever two defeats away from a crisis, but Eddie Howe may reflect on that being an over-estimation after a disastrous night in the Nou Camp.

Denied victory on Tyneside by a penalty in second half added time, United gave as good as they got for the opening 45 minutes in the Catalonian capital. Twice paying the price for slipshod defending, they responded positively to twice draw level through the most unlikely figure of Anthony Elanga.

Sadly though, the half time whistle didn't sound until after another added time penalty award had benefited the hosts - and decisively changed the course of this tie.

What followed after the interval was as one-sided an encounter as it's possible to witness: United conceding four times but leaving their fans with the feeling that they'd got off lightly. At one stage, the likely margin of defeat looked almost limitless - and it was easy to forget this was still 11 v 11.
 
The sense of excitement and anticipation in the away end as the teams took to the field was tangible, but quickly drained away as a Barcelona side who had won 18 of their 19 home league and cup games this season (not all at this venue) scored from their first meaningful attack. 

Back came United though, not once but twice, and having shared four goals in the most thrilling of encounters, could even have taken the lead for the first time on the night, Anthony Gordon firing wide before Elanga was denied a penalty.

Yamal skied an effort when the ball fell to his feet after Ramsdale saved before the penalty award and conversion by Yamal - who of course would have been suspended, had the booking he deserved in the first leg materialised.

There seemed to be a widespread expectation that the defence that kept a clean sheet at Chelsea last weekend would continue here, but Kieran Trippier and Dan Burn both returned at the expense of Tino Livramento and Sven Botman.

The latter pair would end the night on the field, underlining the suspicion that both changes stemmed from loyalty rather than fitness. the elder statesmen of the back four had both faced Barcelona at Gallowgate, but our worries that things would be rather different this time round proved prescient.

All Barcelona seven goals stemmed from defensive disasters but the four conceded after the break were X-rated for the watching away fans at that end of the ground; Malick Thiaw, Aaron Ramsdale and Jacob Ramsey all found badly wanting.

Livramento replaced Trippier at half time, but our trademark sluggish opening to the second period meant that the tie was effectively over after six minutes. While the coaches are evidently able to wind up the players before the first whistle, there's a collective blind spot second time round.

Almost inevitably, the scorer of that fourth Barcelona goal - Fermin Lopez - would also have been suspended, had the booking he deserved in the first leg materialised.  

Goals number five, six and seven followed before the referee showed mercy and unusually ended the agony on 90 minutes with zero time added on.

As they did in 2003, Barcelona delivered the knockout blow on our second-ever appearance in the last 16, concluding a 12 game European run that may have been hard work, but was stacked full of memorable moments. It seems about 20 years ago, but remember Burn's header versus Bilbao?

We were lucky enough to be here in 1997 and 2002, but the exhilaration of those sampling the Nou Camp for the first time was clear. These are the games you want to be part of - and for the most part we were competitive, despite what the final score may indicate. We'll never know what effect a fit Bruno Guimaraes or an effective striker on the field would have had on either leg of this tie.

To use a financial phrase, past performance is not indicative of future results and it can be counter-productive to excuse Howe because of his achievements. However, to come from a home defeat to third tier opposition four years earlier (Cambridge United, FA Cup, 2022) to tonight via silverware is some journey. 51 cup games across the last four seasons, 18 during the four seasons before that.

Whether we'll ever surpass this glorious failure remains to be seen; regardless of our CEO's bullish talk, there's a part of us that sees the events at Wembley a year ago as a freak alignment of the planets rather than the beginning of a golden era. The Premier League and UEFA certainly both seem to be invested in a footballing version of tall poppy syndrome where Newcastle United are concerned. 

Our future will doubtless be shaped by the close season transfer window and an almost endless list of conundrums to resolve. Back to the here and now though, victory in Sunday's derby feels vital to keep a sense of unity and perspective. A 20 day period without Newcastle playing follows - 20 days of transfer and managerial speculation to be chewed over, never mind crowing from red and whites.

It seems unlikely that we'll return to the Champions League next season, but the merits of ending up in one of the other two UEFA competitions are open to question - the same gruelling programme of midweek travelling, but for considerably less financial reward. It's not all about money, but our conviction remains that had we been in Europe last season, we'd not have won the Carabao Cup.

If there is going to be a downturn in our domestic form though, can we leave it until after the next game please? Gracias.