Unfortunately, Newcastle’s journey in Europe has come to an end after a good run. The atmosphere on Tyneside was filled with various emotions as Samuel Chukwueze, who came on as a substitute for Milan, scored with his first touch and secured their spot in the Europa League. This also means that Eddie Howe’s opportunities have become limited.
Unfortunately, the truth is that Howe’s exhausted players will not be making any more midweek trips to the continent this season. This came as a sudden and upsetting surprise to disappointed Newcastle fans, as they watched their team dominate the game against Milan, with Joelinton and his teammates playing exceptionally well.
Joelinton’s goal put Newcastle in a promising position to advance to the last 16 of the Champions League. However, Paris Saint-Germain’s draw at Dortmund ultimately secured the Ligue 1 team’s spot in that stage.
However, a tie would have sufficed for Newcastle to qualify for the Europa League. Unfortunately, after Christian Pulisic scored the equalizer for Stefano Pioli’s team, fatigue started to affect Howe’s aggressive high press, allowing Rafael Leão and his teammates to see a chance.
When Leão failed to score an easy goal, it seemed like Milan would miss their opportunity. However, Pioli’s brilliant decisions to make three substitutions paid off as all three new players contributed to the winning goal. Luka Jovic and Noah Okafor played a major role in the beautiful passing sequence that led to Chukwueze scoring a minute later, beating Martin Dubravka.
The discussion before the game was focused on Loris Karius, who is the third-string goalkeeper for Newcastle. There was a possibility that he would play in the Champions League for the first time since his disastrous performance in the 2018 final for Liverpool. However, Dubravka was able to pass a last-minute physical evaluation, allowing Karius to instead take a spot on the smaller substitutes bench with only seven players.
The recent injury crisis at St James’ Park resulted in Newcastle losing three consecutive matches. However, this did not discourage their manager from urging his team to play with full intensity.
They did not let down, continuously pushing Milan into defensive dead ends and offensive dead ends while Pioli walked back and forth in a more and more anxious manner.
However, despite Milan’s defense being somewhat makeshift due to only having one healthy specialist center-half in Fikayo Tomori, Newcastle’s early aggressive efforts did not result in as much success as expected. While Mike Maignan appeared visibly relieved when Kieran Trippier’s free-kick did not have enough dip to pose a significant threat, Pioli’s goalkeeper was not put under as much pressure as Howe likely anticipated.
Unfortunately, he couldn’t score until Joelinton took a shot and was saved by Tomori’s impressive block just as Miguel Almirón was about to tap the ball in.
Howe may have been displeased that Almirón did not shoot immediately with his right foot, instead waiting for the ball to fall onto his left, leading to Tomori’s interception.
Meanwhile, Dubravka was hardly challenged as Olivier Giroud and his team struggled to put pressure on the recovering Newcastle goalkeeper. Despite Milan’s skilled Portuguese left winger Leão occasionally displaying his ability to change pace and deceive Trippier before his shot went wide, he mostly served as the sole threat on the counter-attack.
During extended periods, Newcastle looked completely different from the team that let in seven goals in their last two matches against Everton and Tottenham. Milan often had difficulty dealing with them and had trouble finding a flow in their passing game.
Congratulations to 17-year-old academy graduate Lewis Miley, whose clever pass set up Joelinton’s goal in the 33rd minute, sending Newcastle into a well-deserved lead and nearly causing the stadium to erupt.
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Joelinton took a moment to steady himself before unleashing a shot from the edge of the field that flew past Maignan without hesitation. Howe’s midfielder, who was originally signed as a £40m striker, showed why he was once compared to Alan Shearer by scouts.
For a brief period, Milan became very anxious and began relying on hopeful long passes more frequently. Maignan was frustrated by what he saw as a lack of support and argued with the referee for an extended period of time, even after receiving a yellow card for dissent.
The away team’s goalkeeper may have had a valid reason to not appreciate being knocked down by Joelinton, but his excessive response reflected the underlying tensions within a Serie A club. The team’s American owners recently brought in Zlatan Ibrahimovic as a special adviser, adding to the already tense atmosphere.
Ibrahimovic likely would have converted the missed opportunity for a good shot in the beginning of the second half, but the ex-Milan and Swedish forward may have seen some glimmers of optimism as Newcastle started to struggle in maintaining their initial pace. Pioli’s team also gained some possession towards the end of the second half.
All of a sudden, Joelinton, who was previously exceptional, started to appear more human. Howe must have longed for Sandro Tonali, his former midfielder from Milan, to not be suspended for 10 months due to breaking Italian betting rules.
The manager of Newcastle was displeased when Pulisic scored to tie the game. The play began with Tomori connecting with Leão’s long pass, but Pulisic’s shot attempt was off-target. However, Giroud was able to pass the ball across the goal, allowing Pulisic to score from six yards out and bring the score to 1-1.
Although Maignan made an impressive save to deflect Bruno Guimarães’s beautifully bending shot onto the crossbar, Leão narrowly missed a clear shot at the goal. He believed he had ruined Milan’s chances, but Chukwueze had different plans.
Source: theguardian.com
