Newcastle 1-2 Milan: Newcastle out of Europe after home loss
Newcastle have been knocked out of European competitions after losing to Milan 2-1 at St. James' Park.
The Magpies went into the evening with hope of qualifying for the Champions League knockout stage, needing a win and for PSG to fail to win, but will have at the very least fancied their chances of earning a point at home to Milan and securing Europa League football.
Things were looking great for Eddie Howe's side early on as Joelinton put them ahead after 33 minutes, and at half-time, with Dortmund and PSG all-square, Newcastle were on course to finish second in the group.
It seemed even more likely after Karim Adeyemi put Dortmund ahead in Germany, but things started to get worst soon after.
Milan equalised on Tyneside through Christian Pulisic just before the hour mark, and by that time PSG were level, meaning it was 'as you were' with half an hour to go.
Newcastle knew that one goal could do it with Les Parisiens being held, and they pushed forward, forcing Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan into some incredible saves before the Italian side provided the sucker-punch on the counter attack.
Noah Okafor and Samuel Chukwueze had only come on as substitutes in the 83rd minute, but both made an immediate impact, with the former assisting the latter for what turned out to be the winner in the 84th minute.
That flipped the script, with Milan in third and on their way to the Europa League, and Newcastle out of Europe all together. Dortmund and PSG did end up sharing the spoils, but both progressed due to the result in England.
Newcastle must now pick themselves up for the visit of an in form Fulham in the Premier League, with attentions now solely focused on challenging for the top four once again domestically to get a seat at Europe's top table for a second successive season.
More from Sporting Life
- Fixtures, results and live scores
- Expert xG analysis and features
- Transfer news and done deals
- Football and other sports tips
- Download our free iOS and Android app
- Podcasts and video content
Safer gambling
We are committed in our support of safer gambling. Recommended bets are advised to over-18s and we strongly encourage readers to wager only what they can afford to lose.
If you are concerned about your gambling, please call the National Gambling Helpline / GamCare on 0808 8020 133.
Further support and information can be found at begambleaware.org and gamblingtherapy.org.