Newcastle beat PSG, top of Champions League table

Playing at home in the Champions League for the first time in 20 years, Newcastle defeated PSG 4-1 in the second round of Group F on October 4.

It was one of the most special nights at St James' Park in Newcastle's history, as they thrashed the giants PSG with homegrown goals. Newcastle-born Dan Burn and Sean Longstaff scored twice between goals from Miguel Almiron and Fabian Schar. With four points, the English side went top of the Champions League 'group of death' after two games.

Almiron (black and white shirt) opened the scoring for Newcastle in the match against PSG at St James' Park. Photo: AP

Playing away against a tough opponent, coach Luis Enrique still fielded four strikers including Kylian Mbappe, Randal Kolo Muani, Goncalo Ramos and Ousmane Dembele in the starting lineup. This decision was considered brave before the match, but what happened on the pitch showed that it was a mistake. Against a Newcastle team that always pressed well at St James' Park, PSG's backline collapsed before the ball reached the strikers' feet.

PSG only played well in the first 10 minutes, with Dembele missing a chance. Then the home team created many responses in the first half. The pressure caused Marquinhos to pass the ball wrongly. The ball fell to Alexander Isak in the penalty area, and he fired a powerful shot into Gianluigi Donnarumma's position. The PSG goalkeeper could not catch it, allowing Miguel Almiron to rush in and open the scoring in the 17th minute.

In the half Mbappe was almost "invisible", PSG did not have a single shot on target. Newcastle increased the score at the end of the half, also in a situation where Donnarumma did everything he could but could not save the goal. After blocking Bruno Guimaraes' shot at the near post, the Italian goalkeeper rushed to the far post to block Dan Burn's header, but the ball went over the line. It took five minutes for VAR to recognize the goal, bringing joy to Newcastle fans.

PSG made some good signs at the end of the first half and went into the second with a vengeance. But just after the break, they were dealt a further blow by Longstaff's strike. In Newcastle's last Champions League campaign, 2002-03, Longstaff was just five years old sitting in the stands at St James' Park.

On a day of disappointing stars, PSG still had a bright spot in Warren Zaire-Emery. His exquisite through ball for Lucas Hernandez to reduce the score to 1-3 in the 56th minute made many people forget that Zaire-Emery is only 17 years old. He has started eight of the nine matches this season and is an important factor in PSG's midfield.

PSG's spirits were high after the equaliser but they failed to create many more chances as Newcastle switched from a tit-for-tat approach to a defensive game. The hosts maintained their two-goal lead and only came back late in the game. They immediately added another goal thanks to Fabian Schar's long-range strike in the first minute of stoppage time.

The 4-1 win took Newcastle to the top of Group F with four points. This group deserves the name "death", with the positions separated by only one point after two matches. PSG finished second in the group with three points, after Dortmund drew 0-0 with AC Milan in the same match. AC Milan finished third with two points, while Dortmund finished bottom with one point.

Line-up

Newcastle: Pope; Trippier, Lascelles, Schar, Burn; Longstaff, Guimaraes, Tonali (Anderson 65); Almiron (Murphy 71), Gordon (Matt Targett 90), Isak

PSG: Donnarumma; Lucas, Skriniar, Marquinhos, Hakimi; Ugarte (Vitinha 64), Zaire-Emery, Kolo Muani (Barcola 57), Dembele, Mbappe; Ramos.

Vy Anh

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