Newcastle 1-2 AC Milan: Eddie Howe’s Magpies are OUT of Europe

A couple of hours before kick-off, small groups of fans crossed the swing bridge over the River Tyne, where Kieron Dyer crashed his red Ferrari 20 years ago, the last time Newcastle United were big in Europe, and began to ascend the steep slope towards its cathedral on the hill.

European royalty was in town again and the streets were already packed with expectant fans, who didn’t notice the cold of the winter night or the rain in the air. This was a night for a new generation and a new era for the club, a club that, backed by the wealth of Saudi Arabia, is no longer an underdog.

“It’s not beyond our wildest dreams,” a giant flag unfurled at Gallowgate End before kick-off read: “Because we had wild dreams.” And for much of the game, it seemed as if those wild dreams were getting closer to reality.

For much of the match, with Newcastle leading AC Milan, it looked like Eddie Howe’s team were heading to the Champions League round of 16 alongside European aristocracy such as Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and the new kings of the competition, Manchester City.

But then, after Joelinton’s sumptuous goal in the first half, Milan rediscovered their poise, equalized thanks to Christian Pulisic and got the winning goal thanks to Samuel Chukwueze and suddenly it no longer mattered what was happening in the match between Borussia Dortmund and PSG.

And suddenly, the wildest dreams seemed a little further away. The defeat meant Newcastle didn’t even have the consolation prize of a Europa League place. Like Manchester United, they finished bottom of their group and only had one win in their adventures.

Unlike Erik ten Hag’s team, they at least tried. Unlike the Ten Hag team, they are a team on the rise. But for now at least, they will have to wait until they can match the achievements of the team of Dyer and Sir Bobby Robson from two decades ago.

This was the biggest European night for the club since the famous victory over Feyenoord under Sir Bobby Robson in November 2002, when a late Craig Bellamy goal took them into the second group stage of the Champions League after having lost their first three games in the final. competence.

At home, there have also been some momentous European nights, most notably when Newcastle beat Barcelona here in September 1997 and Faustino Asprilla scored a hat-trick to beat the Catalan giants’ team that featured Rivaldo, Luis Figo and Luis Enrique.

The 4-1 win over Paris Saint-Germain in the north-east in October ranks alongside those nights for what it meant to Newcastle fans after their years in the wilderness under Mike Ashley. They hailed it here as a resurrection.

The same thing happened against Milan. The stadium was a cauldron at the start of the game. The guttural, visceral roar as Anthony Gordon pounced on a Davide Calabrian clearance in the opening minutes tore the air. Milan seemed taken aback by the occasion. Either that, or they generally have a hard time stringing more than two passes together.

The sound and fury did not abate and Newcastle should have opened the scoring after 20 minutes. Joelinton did a great job of putting the ball across the goal to beat Mike Maignan’s shot. Miguel Almirón only had to touch the ball to put it in but somehow he got confused and allowed Fikayo Tomori to make a brilliant tackle on the goal line that rescued his team.

Soon after, Milan gave the first indication that they had the wherewithal to muster fluidity in attack and Newcastle were fortunate that Rafael Leao shot wide when he found space on the left of the home area.

But 12 minutes before the break, Newcastle got the goal that their play and intensity deserved. Gordon, who had been irrepressible, moved forward and fed Lewis Miley on the edge of the Milan area.

Miley put it back into Joelinton’s path and when Joelinton touched it, the ball stayed still and he unleashed a spectacular half-volley that beat Maignan’s desperate dive, nearly bursting Milan’s net.

Joelinton ran to the sideline to hug Eddie Howe. It was his first goal in the Champions League since he scored for Hoffenheim against Lyon five years ago. It could hardly have been a cleaner and more important strike.

Milan was distracted and restless. They looked like a team sitting a distant third in Serie A, a team with the likes of Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Christian Pulisic, who struggled to make an impact in the Premier League. When Maignan was booked for dissent at the end of the first half, he reflected Milan’s helplessness.

Milan did not improve at the beginning of the second half. Former Newcastle player Chris Waddle, sitting in the back row of the press box, described his performance up to that point as “absolutely pathetic”. Newcastle were outplaying them.

And then, early in the second half, came the news the stadium had been waiting for: Dortmund had taken the lead against PSG at the Westfalenstadion. All around St James’ Park, groups of Newcastle fans jumped in the air and hugged each other.

The news that PSG had equalized five minutes later was received with less enthusiasm. And then, out of nowhere, just before the hour, Milan equalized after some chaotic defending in the Newcastle box.

The ball bounced around the area until it found Olivier Giroud, who created a moment of calm and elegance among the crowd and passed a clever square ball to Pulisic. Pulisic, the epitome of ordinary until that point, had enough composure to slot the ball past Martin Dubravka. The stadium fell silent.

Howe made a number of substitutions. Alexander Isak entered. Dan Burn entered. Midway through the half, Isak cut inside his marker and fired a shot just over the bar. Newcastle continued to push for victory.

They thought they had taken the lead again after 68 minutes when Bruno Guimaraes, their talented Brazilian midfielder, slid off his marker on the edge of the Milan box and unleashed a fierce shot into the far corner.

It looked like a goal from the moment it came off his boot, but Maignan dove to his left, extended his left hand and pushed the ball up and towards the crossbar before it bounced to safety.

Milan wasted a chance to win the game with 12 minutes remaining when Leao broke clear of the Newcastle defense and pounced on Dubravka. His shot beat Dubravka, but he went wide of the right post. Newcastle breathed again.

Milan had gotten more and more into the game in the second half and now it was their turn to push for the winning goal as time ran out. Newcastle had a habit of tiring at the end of games and it looked like it was happening again.

That impression was confirmed when Chukwueze scored the winning goal six minutes from time. Tomori hit the post as Milan looked to extend their lead and Newcastle could not find a way back.