For a while Newcastle made this fun but they did not make it through, all that hope giving way to hurt and regret.
By the
time the final whistle went, the Camp Nou belted out the club anthem and the
broken men in black and white trudged towards their own supporters, positioned
high above a scoreboard that showed 7-2, it seemed absurd to say
that they had played their part, but they had. In the end, though, the biggest
night of their lives belonged to Barcelona, who scored as many goals as they
ever have in the European Cup.
Eddie
Howe had said his side could not and would not shrink and, for three‑quarters
of their first knockout tie in this competition, they didn’t. Not in the first leg, when it had taken a 96th-minute
Lamine Yamal penalty to deny them victory. Not when they went behind to
Raphinha’s goal after six minutes of the second leg.
Not
even when they went behind a second time after 18 minutes, Marc Bernal making
it 2-1. It wasn’t until the third time, another penalty from Lamine Yamal, that
it became a step to far. And then, it is true, they collapsed completely.
Lamine Yamal’s penalty, the last kick of the first half, left Newcastle 3-2 down and they must have wished it could have ended there. They never recovered psychologically from the blow and were powerless to prevent Barcelona scoring three more in 15 second-half minutes before they added a seventh. That hadn’t seemed possible after Anthony Elanga scored twice and they had taken on their hosts.
Even with a brilliant Barcelona display after the break, even with Newcastle ruing their own defensive complicity in defeat, it still felt a little cruel that their courage came to nought.
Howe
had promised Newcastle would be themselves and that meant going at Barcelona;
the problem was that’s a game Hansi Flick’s side embrace, too. For all the talk
of Cruyffian DNA, he has provided a twist and built a team willing to run and
trade blows in transition, life lived on the edge. That led to a frantic and
immensely enjoyable first half that could have closed with either side leading.
It also led, eventually, to a goal‑fest.
It
started with a sharp turn from Lamine Yamal in the centre circle that caused
Malick Thiaw to slip, Raphinha sprinting free to exchange passes with Fermín
López and bend into the net.
Newcastle’s response was swift, Lewis Hall heading straight at Barcelona. Eric García came too far to protect the defence but not far enough to actually make the challenge, so Hall played it to Harvey Barnes and kept running on to the return ball. Through now, he bent it into Elanga to cut a sharp finish past Joan García to equalise.
Barcelona took less than two minutes to lead again after Lamine Yamal spun and was fouled. Gerard Martín nodded down Raphinha’s free-kick for Marc Bernal to score from five yards.see more
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