Newcastle United took a huge step toward the Champions League last 16 with a resounding 3-0 win over PSV Eindhoven on Wednesday evening.
On paper, this could have been a tough night for the Magpies against a PSV side running away with their third straight Eredivisie title, while they’ve already beaten Napoli and Liverpool and drawn against Bayer Leverkusen in this season’s Champions League.
However, Peter Bosz was without a host of key players, including Ricardo Pepi, Sergino Dest, Ismael Saibari and Ruben van Bommel, and it showed.
Multiple first-half mistakes at the back gifted Newcastle openings, which Yoane Wissa and Anthony Gordon gladly took advantage of. And in the second half, Harvey Barnes finished the job with a surging run and finish.
Gordon and Wissa lead Newcastle pressing masterclass
Wednesday’s win was a masterclass in pressing from Newcastle United, who won possession in the attacking third seven times at St. James’ Park — only four teams managed more on Gameweek 7.
Their first goal came after just eight minutes when Bruno Guimaraes pounced on a shoddy clearance by PSV goalkeeper Matej Kovar. Newcastle immediately moved through the gears, with Guimaraes quickly playing it forward to Joelinton, who fed it to Wissa for his third goal for the club and first in the Champions League.
It was another mishap that allowed the Magpies to double the lead just 22 minutes later, with Yarek Gasiorowski poorly miscontrolling a Jerdy Schouten pass as Wissa came bearing down on him. The Congolese striker threw himself into the challenge and diverted the ball to Gordon for an open goal — the Englishman now second only to Kylian Mbappe (11) on six Champions League goals this season, while he has the most direct goal involvements (8) in a single Champions League campaign of any Newcastle player.
The third came as Schouten failed to deal with a routine long ball into PSV territory. Wissa quickly sprang into action to make a diverting run, which opened the space for Barnes to pierce through the defence and leave Kovar with no chance on the finish.
Newcastle United’s top goalscorers this season (all comps)
- Harvey Barnes – 12
- Anthony Gordon – 9
- Nick Woltemade – 9
- Bruno Guimaraes – 8
- Joelinton – 5
Yes, the goals came from three mistakes. But Newcastle showed incredible intensity without the ball to force those mistakes, and ruthless efficiency with the chances that the press created.
Newcastle make big round-of-16 leap, but at a cost
Newcastle’s last Champions League outing saw them surrender a lead late on to draw 2-2 away at Bayer Leverkusen. That left them with work to do not only in sealing progression out of the league phase, but also if they wanted to advance straight to the last 16.
This result was utterly transformative, ending a two-game winless snap in the Champions League and propelling Newcastle from 13th to seventh in the table, with a healthy boost to their goal difference.
It’s just as well, given Eddie Howe’s men face the unenviable task of travelling to defending champions Paris Saint-Germain in their final group match. The two are part of an eight-team group locked on 13 points, with their +10 goal differences proving vital so far.
And it’s looking like Newcastle may have to face the Parisians without the inspirational Bruno Guimaraes, who limped off injured just before half-time. So it certainly wasn’t the perfect night.
But even if they don’t manage to finish in the top eight, Newcastle sealed their playoff spot here, while putting on the sort of terrifying attacking display that will make them a nightmare to any team they draw in the next round.
Next five Newcastle United fixtures
- 25th January: Aston Villa (H) – Premier League
- 28th January: PSG (A) – Champions League
- 31st January: Liverpool (A) – Premier League
- 4th February: Man City (A) – EFL Cup
- 7th February: Brentford (H) – Premier League