During the 90 minutes against AC Milan at St James' Park, Eddie Howe's team had to go through many different emotions. There were times when they were positioned enough to qualify for the Champions League group stage, then fell to the Europa League. But in the end the result was a 1-2 defeat and the "Magpies" ranked bottom of Group F.
Just like Man United 24 hours before, Newcastle were eliminated from the Champions League with only 1 win after the group stage. Two of the richest clubs in the Premier League were a disappointment when they stopped early in the continental playground.
Back in October, when Newcastle marked their first home match in the Champions League in 20 years with an impressive 4-1 victory over PSG. It was a bustling atmosphere and opened up a great opportunity for the "Magpies" to pass the group stage.
But after the end of the group stage campaign, the victory over PSG turned out to be Newcastle's only victory. Home defeats to Dortmund and Milan prevented them from completing their goals.
The general principle in the Champions League is that teams will pass the group stage if they win home matches and get 1 or 2 points in away matches. Of course, there are still exceptions, but losing 2 consecutive home matches is always the formula leading to elimination, especially if they cannot win away.
Newcastle can complain for many reasons. They suffered a regrettable penalty in stoppage time against PSG last month. Meanwhile, AC Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan also made an excellent save to block Bruno Guimaraes' shot when the score was 1-1 in the match early this morning.
However, Milan also hit the post twice in this match, when luck did not support Rafael Leao and Fikayo Tomori. The Rossoneri finally deserved the victory thanks to goals from Christian Pulisic and Samuel Chukwueze.
Eddie Howe said at the post-match press conference: "We definitely want to qualify for the Champions League group stage. That is our intention before and during the match. I'm not sure if the players lost that determination when the score was 1-1. Goals from mistakes can come at any time, whether you are proactive or in a state of reaction.
I sympathize with the players. I have seen what they have contributed. Tonight we have not been at our best. It hurts me and them because I know how much effort they have put in. We have gone into Champions League games without a key player due to injury and that has hurt us."
Those injuries have caused Newcastle to go through a very difficult period in both the Premier League and the Champions League. The main absences include injuries to goalkeeper Nick Pope, defender Sven Botman and striker Harvey Barnes, while Sandro Tonali is suspended for 10 months.
With so many absentees, it is not possible to say that Newcastle's return to the Champions League this season is a failure.
It was a learning process for Howe's army. The 2 losses to Dortmund are an example of applying smart tactics and playing experience. And Newcastle can also reflect on the 0-0 score in the opening match against AC Milan. They can clearly get 3 points if they are confident and bold enough.
The victory over PSG was Newcastle's most memorable match in this year's Champions League campaign. They certainly enjoyed more positive moments than Man United. Erik ten Hag's team had to switch from one bad result to another in Group A.
Anthony Gordon, Bruno Guimaraes and Lewis Miley all have shined in the Champions League. Clearly, Newcastle have enough resources to increase personnel in January and return strongly next season.
However, it is not surprising that Newcastle suffered the same fate as Man United. Especially as their failures could see the Premier League lose their place in their fifth Champions League next season.
Man United are ranked 6th and Newcastle are ranked 7th in the Premier League at the moment. And it would be ironic if their elimination from the Champions League group stage led to the prospect of one of two teams missing out on a place in next season's tournament.
Naivety paid the price for Newcastle. In the end, Howe only participated in the tournament for the first time with a squad of players with less experience than his opponents in the same group.
