Newcastle United celebrated the return of Champions League football to St. James’ Park by defeating Paris Saint-Germain in front of an electric crowd in Tyneside.
Newcastle made their first home game in Europe’s elite competition in 20 years a night to remember with goals from Miguel Almiron, Dan Burn, Sean Longstaff, and Fabian Schar.
“We hope this gives us the belief we need to be successful in the competition,” said Newcastle boss Eddie Howe.
“It’s only by doing that you can prove it to yourselves.”
The draw for this season places Howe’s team at the top of what is thought to be the toughest Champions League group.
Newcastle leads PSG in Group F with four points after two games, while Borussia Dortmund and AC Milan each earned one after a scoreless draw in Germany.
The first-ever matchup between the clubs pitted Saudi Arabia’s and Qatar’s competing sporting agendas against one another.
Newcastle’s fortunes have changed as a result of a Saudi takeover two years ago, much like PSG’s rise to prominence as the dominant force in French football over the previous ten years was financed by money from the Middle East.
Newcastle was the team that no one wanted to come out of the fourth pot of seeds, according to PSG manager Luis Enrique, and the Premier League team proved why.
Luis Enrique bravely stayed with a star-studded front four that included Kylian Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele, Goncalo Ramos, and Randal Kolo Muani despite being acutely aware of Newcastle’s threat.
“These games are tough for coaches,” said the former Spain boss, who defended his team selection.
“Honestly, I think the scoreline is unfair, even if I have to congratulate Newcastle, who played very well. But I think 4-1 is harsh.”
The home team held onto the visitors tightly once they got their hands on them, spurred on by a boisterous 52,000 supporters.
Though, with the first goal coming after 17 minutes, PSG were the architects of their own demise.
Bruno Guimaraes was able to intercept a sloppy pass from Marquinhos and provide Alexander Isak with a clear shot at goal.
The Swede was denied by a fine save from Gianluigi Donnarumma, but Almiron was there to curl the ball into the far corner.
Despite the hundreds of millions that both teams lavished on well-known figures from around the world, the origin of the second goal was shrouded in a fairytale.
Burn began his football career with Blyth Spartans in the sixth tier of English football and has worked his way up to the top level of European football. He grew up watching Newcastle from the St. James’ Park stands.
Six minutes before halftime, the large defender’s close-range header went over the goal line despite Donnarumma’s best efforts.
PSG was disappointed that a thorough VAR review did not disqualify the goal for a handball committed by Jamaal Lascelles in the build-up.
Five minutes after the restart, another of Newcastle’s homegrown players put an end to any possibility of a PSG comeback.
After sprinting onto Kieran Trippier’s pass, Longstaff fired a low shot past Donnarumma, who really ought to have done better.
The French champions at least displayed some grit to minimise the harm.
Young midfielder Warren Zaire-Emery made an impression in a difficult situation, and Lucas Hernandez perfectly timed his header into the far corner with his dink over the Newcastle defence.
Newcastle, however, believed that this was just the beginning of their path to one day winning the Champions League, and they sealed a famous victory in style.
Schar advanced from the centre of the defence before launching a powerful shot from outside the box into the top corner.
PSG, in contrast, are still waiting to rule Europe, and this served as yet another sobering reminder of how far behind the competition’s front-runners they are.
PSG have now won just four of their first nine games under Luis Enrique, off to their worst Ligue 1 start of the Qatari era.
Photo by EPA/PETER POWELL
