The 2023-24 European football season started off with plenty of promise for Newcastle United, but now they can only blame themselves as their campaign has begun to derail. The Magpies made their much-awaited Champions League return since 2003, and in their first home game, they thrashed PSG 4-1. After two matches, they were on top of Group F with four points in two fixtures.
But since then, their return to Europe’s premier competition has been a disaster, as they were drawn against heavyweights PSG, AC Milan and Borussia Dortmund. After beating PSG, they looked like the favourites to top their group. By the end of their last group game against Milan, their ambitions were down the drain and second-half goals gave the Serie A side a 2-1 win away from home.
Against Milan in their final group game, they started on a strong note, as Joelinton rose to the occasion in the 33rd-minute with a hammering strike to give his side the lead at home. It looked like they would finish in second spot, and then in the second-half the news came that Karim Adeyemi scored the opener for Dortmund against PSG.
Then, PSG levelled proceedings, and at that point, Newcastle needed to keep their advantage and not make any mistakes. But suddenly minutes later, Pulisic scored from close range and then the entire dynamics of the game changed. Then once again, Newcastle had to begin applying pressure and go all-out for the winning goal which would give them qualification. Bruno Guimaraes came close, but with seven minutes remaining, Samuel Chukwueze made it 2-1 for Milan.
After their opening home win against PSG, Newcastle have begun to be highly inconsistent on all fronts. In their third group match against Dortmund, they crashed to a 0-1 loss, and then in the return fixture in Germany, they fell to a 0-2 defeat.
They bounced back with a 1-1 draw against PSG, courtesy of a late Kylian Mbappe equaliser. After their first UCL home win, they have been less creative in the final third, especially in their away fixtures.
Also against Milan, they decided to sit back and absorb pressure after Joelinton’s early goal. A defensive lapse gifted Milan their equaliser and then a late winner was enough to knock the English team out of the Champions League as they finished bottom of the group, also missing out on Europa League. They are also meandering at seventh position at the Premier League and we could also see some reinforcements in the upcoming winter transfer window.
Last season, they finished in a respectable fourth position, which sparked the Eddie Howe revolution. But a poor run of form, inconsistency and lack of goals has seen them perform below their potential.
Also midfield lynchpin Sandro Tonali’s ban has been a huge turning point in Howe’s tactics and it has put more pressure on Guimaraes, who has failed to deliver in crucial situations. Tonali was banned from playing football on October 26 for 10 months, after breaching Italian betting regulations. This also included a further eight months in gambling rehabilitation. The ban has resulted in him missing rest of the season and also UEFA Euro 2024.