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Newcastle suffered a first Champions League defeat of the season as they lost 1-0 at home to Borussia Dortmund in a result that throws Group F wide open.
After beating French champions Paris Saint-Germain 4-1 in their last European match at St James’ Park, Newcastle were brought back down to earth by Dortmund as they suffered their first defeat in nine matches.
Felix Nmecha’s goal on the stroke of half-time proved to be the winner as the German side recorded their first victory of this season’s Champions League.
Callum Wilson, who replaced the injured Alexander Isak after just 15 minutes, missed a great chance in the second half to bring Newcastle level as Gregor Kobel saved superbly.
The woodwork denied Newcastle twice late on as Wilson headed against it from a free-kick while Anthony Gordon saw a stoppage-time effort crash off the bar.
Eddie Howe’s side, who had started the night top of the group, have dropped down to third behind Dortmund, with PSG topping the table on six points after a 3-0 home win over AC Milan.
The Magpies now face tough away games against Dortmund and PSG next month with plenty left to do if the Premier League side are to reach the knockout stages.
Newcastle’s CL progress checked by Dortmund
Newcastle’s Miguel Almiron shows his disappointment at the defeat
A rain-soaked St James’ Park was unsurprisingly bouncing ahead of kick-off with an air of expectation following their dispatching of PSG on Tyneside earlier this month.
The atmosphere helped to create a chaotic opening to the game as both sides had chances to take the lead.
In the second minute, Newcastle goalkeeper Nick Pope blocked Donyell Malen’s shot with his legs and then just a minute later his opposite number Kobel was alert to dive and stop Gordon’s curling shot.
Pope produced an excellent double save in the 10th minute to first deny Malen and then Niclas Fullkrug’s close-range follow up.
Nick Pope made a wonderful double save in the first half
Newcastle then countered at breakneck speed through Isak, who slipped in Gordon but he was once again denied by Kobel.
That was Isak’s last real action of the game as he limped off after just 15 minutes, having earlier undergone treatment on the pitch.
But just as half-time approached, Dortmund struck to silence St James’ Park. Nico Schlotterbeck robbed Gordon to release Marco Reus who then slipped in the defender on the left, with his cross finding an unmarked Nmecha to allow the ex-Manchester City youngster to guide home expertly.
Borussia Dortmund’s Felix Nmecha celebrates after his winner against Newcastle
Twelve minutes into the second half Wilson missed a great chance to equalise as Gordon found him in the box but after taking one touch to steady himself he then prodded a shot at the outstretched Kobel who produced a fine save.
Sandro Tonali then made an appearance as a second-half substitute amid speculation he could be handed a lengthy ban for alleged breaches of betting rules.
Fellow substitute Jacob Murphy, though, lasted just three-and-a-half minutes as he was forced to depart with a shoulder injury.
Newcastle pushed for a leveller and came close twice as Wilson headed an 87th-minute free-kick against the bar and Gordon hit the same part of the woodwork in the final minute of stoppage time with a deflected shot.
Howe: Injuries biggest blow from defeat
Eddie Howe suffered his first defeat in the Champions League
Newcastle boss Eddie Howe speaking to TNT Sports:
“It was a blow to lose (Alexander) Isak, it’s another difficult thing to take from tonight because we’ve got a small squad as it is and lost Jacob (Murphy) too.
“With all the big games we’ve got coming up, it’s probably the most disappointing thing from tonight.
“It looks like a re-occurrence of Alexander’s groin problem, it won’t be serious but it’s bad enough to keep him out and that’s a big blow for a player of his quality.
“Jacob’s looks quite serious, a potential dislocation of his shoulder.”
On the defeat, Howe added: “We’re frustrated we didn’t get anything from today – I didn’t feel like we meant to lose.
“It was a tough game for us. First half we were off where we needed to be.
“Tactically they were good, they gave us a problem in central areas, we were a bit loose in possession for ourselves.
“Second half we were a lot better, and it was just a case of whether the ball would go in for us, and unfortunately it didn’t.”
Terzic: We deserved to win | ‘Group is now quite open’
Borussia Dortmund coach Edin Terzic was delighted with the win
Borussia Dortmund head coach Edin Terzic speaking to TNT Sports:
“It wasn’t a perfect game plan but a perfect result. We played a perfect first half and showed fantastic fight in the second.
“We deserved to win with the first half, and we’re really happy.
“As a manager, I don’t like an exciting group, but when we saw the draw we knew it would be a tough fight until the end – and we’re halfway through now.
“Everything is quite open. We’ll have a new opportunity to find out how far we can go in a couple of weeks.”
Opta stats: Newcastle suffer first European home defeat since 2003
- Newcastle United suffered a home defeat in a major European match for the first time since March 2003 against Barcelona – they had gone 24 unbeaten in between these defeats (W19 D5).
- This was only Newcastle’s fifth home defeat in their last 40 matches at St James’ Park in all competitions (W27 D8) and ended a run of five consecutive home wins.
- Ten different English players appeared for Newcastle tonight (Willock, Murphy, Targett, Burn, Wilson, Longstaff, Trippier, Pope, Lascelles, Gordon), the most by a team in a UEFA Champions League match since Blackburn Rovers in November 1995 vs Spartak Moscow (also 10).
- Newcastle United faced 10 shots in the first half of this match – in the UEFA Champions League this season, only Crvena Zvedza (44) have faced more shots in the first half of matches than the Magpies (29), with Felix Nmecha’s goal the first time they’ve conceded in the first half.
Newcastle’s remaining Champions League fixtures…
November 7: Borussia Dortmund (A) – kick-off 5.45pm
November 28: PSG (A) – kick-off 8pm
December 13: AC Milan (H) – kick-off 8pm
What’s next?
Saturday 28th October 5:00pm
Kick off 5:30pm
Newcastle are back in Premier League action on Saturday when they travel to Wolves, live on Sky Sports; kick-off 5.30pm.
Meanwhile, Borussia Dortmund travel to Eintracht Frankfurt in the Bundesliga on Sunday; kick-off 2.30pm.
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