The Paris Saint Germain players stood in stunned silence in front of a sea of black and white as Saint James Park practically bounced with glee after Newcastle’s dismantling of the French Champions 4-1 in a historic night of Champions League football.
It has been a week of utter jubilation for the Magpies as Eddie Howe’s team eliminated Manchester City last Wednesday from the Carabao Cup, then beat Burnley in the weekend and now, have rubber stamped their credentials with a statement win over Kylian Mbappe and co.
On the night, the Saudi backed club and the Qatar funded outfit had a stark difference. One was a team built on the back of individuals working as a unit while the other relies heavily on star power with brilliant individuals all around the pitch but they have failed to work together so far this season. Understandably so, as PSG have had a complete overhaul in the summer with the 4-man frontline boasting of the likes of Kolo Muani, Goncalo Ramos, Ousmane Dembele, all of whom have just arrived at the club this transfer window.
Meanwhile, Newcastle have largely retained their core players who helped the club reach the UCL after 20 long years and have added the services of Sandro Tonali from AC Milan in order to strengthen their midfield.
Since the Saudi takeover, players like Alexander Isak, Nick Pope, Anthony Gordon, Kieran Trippier, Bruno Guimaraes, Tonali and Dan Burn have been added to the Magpies’ side. None of these names scream “superstar” but they are the vital cogs in a team which revels in playing a brand of fluid and free flowing football, capable of running the opponent ragged with their relentless pressing.
Howe mostly sets up his team in a 4-3-3 formation with their style defined by fast breaks in transition as we saw during the opening goal against PSG. Guimaraes latched on to a ball in midfield and played it to Isak whose shot was parried and Miguel Almiron rolled it into the net off the rebound.
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The ability to win the ball in the middle of the park is due to the fact that Newcastle crowd out the centre with players surrounding the opponents which helps create a better pressing and counter attacking opportunity.
Another aspect of Howeball is the intent to take on opponent players. The strikers in Howe’s team are always willing to have a go at the defenders. The third goal by local boy Sean Longstaff is a perfect example of this. With the ball in Kieran Trippier’s possession, Longstaff had made a searing run through the wings, leaving Warren Zaire-Emery and Milan Skriniar in his wake. When the ball finally reached him, he made no mistake as his angled shot went past Donnarumma and put the Magpies in La La land.
Fabian Schar with a long ranger and Dan Burn with a header were the other two goals of the night that would cap off PSG’s miseries as Newcastle continues its blistering run of form as they top their Champions League group after 2 matches. What a time to be a Geordie fan!
