Newcastle United began their first Champions League campaign in 20 years by drawing 0-0 away to AC Milan at the San Siro.
With Borussia Dortmund and Paris Saint-Germain in the group it promises to be a fiercely competitive battle to reach the knockout stages.
Here our writers break down the key talking points from the group F opener (you can relive it all here).
A good draw for Newcastle and an injury worry for Milan
Eddie Howe’s side were undoubtedly on the back foot in the first-half, but they weathered the Milan pressure and got an invaluable point. They put bodies on the line when needed (five opposition shots blocked) and Nick Pope made an excellent eight saves.
It is the most competitive of the four groups — before kick-off, Opta predicted a 31 per cent chance of Newcastle winning the group, 26 per cent chance of coming second, 24 per cent likelihood of coming third and 19 per cent chance of coming fourth.
Away form is by no means a prerequisite for success in this competition. Last season’s winners, Manchester City, won just one of their six away games in Europe, and that was on matchday one against Sevilla. They drew 0-0 in the group stages in Dortmund and Copenhagen, and in knockouts in Leipzig, Munich and Madrid.
Similarly, Liverpool lost all three of their away group stage games in 2018-19, when they went on to win the trophy — 1-0 in Naples, 2-0 against Red Star and 2-1 to Paris Saint-Germain. Newcastle are not expected to go quite that deep in the tournament, but being a successful Champions League side has a lot to do with defensive solidity.
If anything, it is a big missed opportunity for Milan, especially after starting so well. Not scoring, despite taking 25 shots, is wasteful, and would have gone a long way to avenge the derby defeat to Inter. Perhaps the bigger loss for them on the night is injury to goalkeeper Mike Maignan.
Liam Tharme
But did Howe’s approach show real belief?
Given Newcastle’s recent form, and the difficulty of the group, it is understandable that they entered cautiously. This was a Milan team who reached the semi-finals of this competition last season, after all.
Newcastle played like a team who entered believing they were underdogs. They worked best in transition, were careful to always keep two midfielders back, and threw themselves into blocks.
But given Milan’s loss at the weekend — as well as the undoubted attacking talent Newcastle have — there was also reason why Howe’s side should not have assumed that role.
Longstaff’s late shot showed Newcastle had opportunities to win. Their performance throughout showed they belonged at this level. At home, where wins are needed to progress, there can be no inferiority complex.
Jacob Whitehead
Pioli’s tweak gets the better of Howe’s press before Calabria exit
Pioli’s side needed that first-half — they had fallen behind early against Inter last time out and struggled to control the game from there.
A tactical tweak this time was right-back Davide Calabria held the width, having played inside in Milan’s previous three Serie A games, turning their 4-3-3 into a 3-2-5. This time, they stayed in the 4-3-3 with wide full-backs and wingers, playing Rade Krunic as a single pivot. Newcastle’s press was aggressive, but Eddie Howe positioned wingers Anthony Gordon and Jacob Murphy narrow, in-line with Milan’s centre-backs.
This left space for goalkeeper Mike Maignan to chip passes to his full-backs, and Milan got out. He completed more passes to his full-backs (eight) than his centre-backs (five) in the first-half. Maignan also kicked long to No 9 Olivier Giroud and winger Rafael Leao, who moved inside and took Kieran Trippier with him, which made space for left-back Theo Hernandez to overlap.
The knock-on effect was that a Newcastle central midfielder had to press Milan’s full-back, which opened central space. All together, Newcastle’s midfield was stretched for Milan to access their forwards from wide spaces, and also had them out of position for collecting second balls.
Pioli’s switch of Tomasso Pobega for Tijjani Reijnders offered the necessary physicality to combat Newcastle in central midfield.
Milan had 13 first-half shots, more than they managed in the opening 45 of any Champions League game last season. Seven of those were on target — including a goal-line clearance — also better than all their European first-halves in 2022-23.
Calabria’s substitution at half-time, a result of him being on a yellow card after fouling Gordon, derailed Milan’s attacking plan for most of the second-half.
Liam Tharme
Milan’s failure to finish
AC Milan had come off the back of a humbling 5-1 defeat in the Milan Derby and needed a positive result here to get a foothold in the supposed “Group of Death”. What transpired was an entertaining — if mildly enraging — display.
Their 15 shots in the first half were the most they’ve managed in Champions League competition since 2011-12 matchup against Belarusian heavyweights BATE Borisov. The statistic loses a little gloss when you consider only seven of those shots were on target, with another section aimed directly at Nick Pope in central areas, but it speaks to the curious construction of Stefano Pioli’s side. Milan have a fantastic collection of ball carriers, but the decisive action in the final third that was lacking for much of Tuesday’s action.
Against a Newcastle side who were solid, if a little shaky under the brighter lights of the Champions League, Pioli’s men should have been out of sight by the hour mark.
The introduction of Christian Pulisic and Tijjani Reijnders brought a further injection of pace and attacking thrust to things but an attacking effort from the former in the 64th minute summed things up. A dribble Clever enough to eke out a yard of space in a dangerous area. A shot dull enough to leave Pope unbothered.
An injury-enforced substitution of Ruben Loftus Cheek for Yunus Musah took a layer of gloss from the Milan attacking machine. “They need to find the corners with a little more power,” was Glenn Hoddle’s assessment of their shooting 20 minutes from time.
It has been called a group of death because all of the teams within it are good, but all four sides are prone to odd glitches. The final scoreline read 0-0, but the expected goals (xG) totals of Milan’s 2.08 compared to Newcastle’s 0.19 painted a fuller picture of the Italian side’s wastefulness.
Carl Anka
Sandro Tonali has a muted San Siro return
Sandro Tonali said before the game that it took him time to settle into life in Newcastle, and it was certainly the case here.
After an hour, he had attempted 10 passes compared to the 30-odd of midfield partners Sean Longstaff and Bruno Guimaraes, and had only 20 touches.
Having quit the San Siro for St James’ Park back in June for an initial £55million, a return day felt fated, even before Newcastle’s ball was drawn out of Group F. A future captain in black and red, now in black and white.
This was Tonali’s first start as a left-sided No 8 in Howe’s 4-3-3, having started Newcastle’s first four league games on the right, playing behind Miguel Almiron. Having been rested for Sunday’s win over Brentford, the last sighting of the Italian had been of his No 8 jersey bombing forward against Brighton, leaving chasms in behind as Newcastle fell to a 3-1 loss.
As a whole, Newcastle’s performance was cautious, the side cogent of Milan’s danger in transition. Tonali encapsulated that approach — of course, he knows Milan’s strengths more than most — and this was a player wary of overcommitting, despite the seduction of a goalscoring return.
The stadium applauded his removal on 71 minutes for Elliot Anderson — the sense of not just thanks for his previous three seasons at the club, but also that he had not harmed them tonight.
Jacob Whitehead
Pulisic offers spark as Musah makes Champions League debut
After starting each of Milan’s league matches, Christian Pulisic found himself on the bench to start the club’s Champions League opener. Fans of the United States international should have fears that he’s in for a repeat of his Chelsea fate, however, as he received an early hook in the side’s 5-1 thrashing against Inter Milan on Saturday.
Nevertheless, the winger looked lively upon entering in place of Samu Chukwueze after 61 minutes. Although both of his shots went off-target, he did lead all Milan players with four touches inside Newcastle’s box from the time he entered the match.
Milan also gave Yunus Musah his Champions League debut after years spent at Valencia, checking in at the 70 minute mark. The 20-year-old was brought on to help stretch the game against a relatively stationary Newcastle defense, working the right-central halfspace with Pulisic to unsettle Dan Burn and set up shop far closer to the box.
Unfortunately for their side, their entrances did not catalyze an eventual match-winner. Nevertheless, their second-nature connection due to their time with the United States men’s national team has given Musah a clear way to make an impact as he works into Stefano Pioli’s rotation.
Jeff Rueter
Aidan Harris, the 16-year-old named on Newcastle’s bench
One name Newcastle United fans might not know is 16-year-old replacement goalkeeper Aidan Harris. From Washington, just south of the city, he has benefitted from the Champions League’s expanded benches to be named alongside Loris Karius. With Newcastle’s U19s playing earlier in the day, it means he bypasses Max Thompson and Jude Smith onto the senior bench. What an experience.
Jacob Whitehead
