AC Milan 0 Newcastle 0: Howe’s pressing problem, Milan’s misses, Tonali’s quiet

Newcastle United began their first Champions League campaign in 20 years by drawing 0-0 with AC Milan at San Siro.

With Borussia Dortmund and Paris Saint-Germain also in Group F, it promises to be a fiercely competitive battle to reach the knockout phase.

Here our writers break down the key talking points from the game (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 won an invaluable point. They put bodies on the line when needed (six opposition shots blocked) and Nick Pope made an excellent eight saves.

It is the most competitive of the groups — before kick-off, Opta predicted a 31 per cent chance of Newcastle finishing top in December, a 26 per cent chance of coming second, 24 per cent of third place (and a place in the Europa League knockout phase in February) and 19 per cent of bringing up the rear.

Away form is by no means a prerequisite for success in this competition.

Last season’s winners, Manchester City, won just one of six on their travels — and that was on matchday one against Sevilla. They then drew 0-0 in the group at Dortmund and FC Copenhagen, and 1-1 in the three knockout ties against RB Leipzig, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid. Similarly, Liverpool lost all three away group games in 2018-19, when they went on to lift the trophy — 1-0 to Napoli, 2-0 against Red Star Belgrade and 2-1 at Paris Saint-Germain.

Newcastle are not expected to go quite that far in the tournament, but being a successful Champions League side has a lot to do with defensive solidity.

If anything, this was a big missed opportunity for Milan, especially after starting the match so well. Not scoring, despite taking 25 shots, is wasteful, and victory would have gone a long way to avenge Saturday’s 5-1 derby defeat to Inter.

Perhaps the bigger blow for them on the night is the injury that forced goalkeeper Mike Maignan off late on, though.

Liam Tharme

But did Howe’s approach show real belief?

Given Newcastle’s form, and the difficulty of the group, it is understandable that they entered the game cautiously. This was a Milan team who reached the semi-finals of this competition last season, after all.

(Alessandro Sabattini/Getty Images)

Newcastle played like a team who kicked off 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 possess — there was also reason why Howe’s side should not have assumed that role.

Sean Longstaff’s late shot showed Newcastle had opportunities to win and their performance throughout showed they belonged at this level.

In the home games, where wins are needed to progress, there must be no inferiority complex.

Jacob Whitehead

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