Eddie Howe endured one of his worst nights as Newcastle United manager after his side were thrashed 7-2 (8-3 on aggregate) by Barcelona at Camp Nou. There were hopes of the Magpies enjoying one of their most famous European outings heading into the game.
A dream win over Barca didn’t occur and instead Howe’s men came in for a nightmare in Catalonia. His troops twice equalised through Anthony Elanga but were put to the sword by a ruthless Blaugrana attack in the second half, conceding four goals.
Raphinha and Robert Lewandowski both bagged braces while Lamine Yamal scored from the penalty spot. Fermin Lopez was also on target in a dismal night for Howe and his team.
Howe on ‘tough’ loss
Howe spoke after the game and was understandably disappointed with the manner of the defeat. He felt the match was one of two halves when speaking to TNT Sports:
“A tough way to go out. Really strange to try and sum that up because first half I thought we were excellent. Quite a lot of individual errors that have ultimately cost us. In the second half, we were nowhere near as good as the first. They deserved to go through.”
Howe touched on the impact Yamal’s penalty right on the brink of half-time had taken on his side. They were set to head in at 2-2 before Kieran Trippier pulled Raphinha down in the box:
“Psychologically, that was a tough one for the lads, right on half-time. Very similar to what happened at the end of the game in the first leg. So psychologically, we didn’t seem to recover from that moment.”
Newcastle performed so well in the first half but capitulated in the second half with several costly mistakes. Howe hit the nail on the head regarding the penalty changing the course of the game.
Where do Newcastle go from here?
Howe will have to quickly pick his men back up, as another of their most important fixtures comes up this weekend. They host rivals Sunderland in the Tyne-Wear derby on Sunday (March 22nd) and will be desperate not to lose two on the bounce, especially against the Black Cats.
A 1-0 loss at the Stadium of Light in December should serve as motivation for the Magpies to make amends for the disaster in Catalonia. The team are out of all cup competitions and are solely focused on the Premier League, sitting ninth, seven points off fifth.
