Eddie Howe says Newcastle ‘showed we can play against the very best’ – UK Times

Eddie Howe will send his players into battle in Barcelona having told them they have shown they can mix it with Europe’s best.

The Magpies will head for the Nou Camp next Wednesday evening knowing they would have been doing so with a precious 1-0 advantage had Lamine Yamal not denied them victory with the final kick in the first leg of their last-16 tie at St James’ Park.

A 1-1 draw was scant reward for a fine performance against one of the very biggest names in European football and head coach Howe, who described the equaliser as “soft”, is confident they can make life intensely difficult for Hansi Flick’s men on their own pitch.

He said: “In the cold light of day when we wake up tomorrow, we’ll see the positives. The tie is very much alive, we played really well.

“We showed our qualities. We’ve been really competitive. The challenge is we need more on a consistent basis. We’ve showed we can play against the very best when we’re at our best.”

Yamal’s spot-kick in the sixth minute of stoppage time denied the Magpies a deserved victory on the night and left them very much alive, but with a major task on their hands if they are to progress.

Harvey Barnes’ 14th goal of the season had given the hosts an 86th-minute lead and seemingly a priceless advantage ahead of the return, but a famous victory was snatched from their grasp at the death.

Malick Thiaw’s challenge on substitute Dani Olmo prompted Italian referee Marco Guida to point to the spot, and Yamal duly obliged to leave Barca with the advantage when the sides reconvene in Spain.

Asked if he felt his team deserved more, Howe said: “Yes, we do.

“A really good performance from the team, very, very good in all phases, really. I thought we limited them with a really good defensive performance from the team and I thought we attacked really well too.

“Although we didn’t create an abundance of clear-cut chances, I thought there were chances all through the game for us.

“It was great to see us finally score and then the last attack of the game, the last kick of the game, it’s a tough one to take.”

Hansi Flick, whose men won 2-1 at St James’ in the first fixture of the group phase back in September, showed flashes of their brilliance and eventually emerged with something to show for their efforts.

However, they were under the cosh for long periods and were happy to leave on level terms.

Flick said: “If you had asked me before the game with a 1-1, I was always happy.

“With the ball, we made not a good game. We lost too many balls, easy mistakes and this is what Newcastle only wants. When they get the ball, the transition they make is good, they have a lot of dynamic, very fast players, so it was not easy.

“But at the end, what I appreciated a lot from my team is that we defended together, the performance in defence was really good today.”