- Newcastle is bottom of the tight Group F after Borussia Dortmund’s defeat.
- Magpies host Milan in the final matchday before facing PSG at home
- Eddie Howe’s team will lose the championship if PSG beats them next.
Eddie Howe has a similar goal to his controversial employer. He is aiming high.
Newcastle United manager, who is ambitious and believes in his players’ ability to become legends of their club, declared this at the beginning of the new season. Howe wants his team to be remembered forever. If they can qualify out of their fiercely competitive Champions League Group, then that will give them the status their manager craves.
Newcastle is in a bad position this season in what’s been called the’group of death ‘. They are bottom of the table with only two matches left, but in years past they’ve recovered from even worse deficits.
After their first three group games, Sir Bobby Robson’s 2002/03 team had zero goals and no points. Three wins in a row against Juventus, Dynamo Kyiv, and Feyenoord, which was unthinkable at the time, got Newcastle through to the next stage, anticslimactically a second-group stage.
Howe and his team have to make sure they still get to hear the Champions League Anthem at Christmas.
What can Newcastle do to reach the knockout stage of the Champions League?
Newcastle United faces a tough battle in order to reach the knockout stage of Champions League / BSR Agency/Getty Images
Table F
| The Rank | The Team | Played | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Borussia Dortmund | 4 | +1 | 7 |
| 2. | PSG | 4 | +1 | 6 |
| 3. | Milan | 4 | -2 | 5 |
| 4. | Newcastle | 4 | 0 | 4 |
The final two games of Newcastle’s Champions League campaign will be a whirlwind of possibilities. But one thing’s for sure: if the Magpies lose away at PSG on Sunday, 28 November, their Champions League season is over.
The Parisians would have an insurmountable lead of nine points over Newcastle at the end the month if they win. Newcastle would have to beat Milan in the last matchday, even if Dortmund did not win any more games during this group stage. This would equal BVB’s seven-point tally.
As the aggregate results of all matches are the tiebreaker in Champions League groups, it is not the goal differential across the whole campaign as used by the Premier League. Dortmund has the advantage over Howe’s team as they defeated Newcastle both at home and on away matches.
Newcastle could eliminate all doubts by winning the final two games of their group. They would then take their thunderous home victory over PSG and bring it to Paris, before calling upon the strength of St James’ Park to face Milan. This would ensure one of two top spots that seal passage into the knockouts.
If the Magpies were to earn a draw away from home against the French champions later in the month, Howe would need his side to beat Milan, and depend on other favorable results, such as Dortmund losing their two remaining matches.
It is tempting to imagine that all four teams finish the group stages with eight points and the same records of W2 D2L2. If the head-to-head result is effectively cancelled out in this highly unlikely scenario and there are no more points to be gained, then goal difference will become the deciding factor. Even if that didn’t work, UEFA had to look at the remaining factors: total goals scored (including away goals), wins, away victories, disciplinary point, and each team’s UEFA Club coefficient.
Newcastle Champions League 2023/24 fixtures and results
| Matchday | Date/KO Time | Fixture/Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 19/09/23 – 17:45 | Milan 0-0 Newcastle |
| 2 | 04/10/23 – 20:00 | Newcastle 4-1 PSG |
| 3 | 25/10/23 – 20:00 | Newcastle 1-1 Dortmund |
| 4 | 07/11/23 – 17:45 | Dortmund wins 2-0 over Newcastle |
| 5 | 28/11/23 – 20:00 | PSG vs Newcastle |
| 6 | 13/12/23 – 20:00 | Newcastle vs Milan |
