Well, that was something, eh? Eddie Howe changing things up and Newcastle United put in one hell of a performance against PSG.
Thiaw, Botman and Burn defended the box as if their lives depended on it. Hall was everywhere, Miley was superb at right-back, Ramsey was brilliant, and Willock looked like a world-beater.
The first 25 minutes were a grind. Watching Nick Pope save the penalty felt like a massive two fingers to the powers that be.
Vitinha was the only player who looked properly class for them last night. There’s an argument to be made that he’s the best midfielder in the world at the moment and it showed. He buried his chance and much like Buendia at the weekend, we were far too slow in closing him down.
PSG, aided by the Slovenian in the middle, continued to push and probe, having a few digs from outside the box without creating many glaring opportunities.
We held our own, battened down the hatches, and started to get Willock’s legs stretched. A few times he made great runs into the channel and put it into the box, without the ball falling kindly for one of our other lads.
In the first half, Woltemade was isolated and tried to press perhaps a little too much. He ended up being bypassed regularly and took himself out of the game but I was impressed with a couple of pieces of hold-up play and am still convinced he will come good.
In the second half, especially with Gordon and Barnes on, big Nick looked more of a threat — not to goal, but in terms of what he can provide in the build-up.
Then the goal — and what a perfect time to get it. Simple stuff in the end. Marquinhos made a meal of the defensive header and BDB’s quick thinking to nod it perfectly into the path of an onrushing Willock made all the difference. Given his form over the last year or so, I would have wanted pretty much anyone else on the end of that, but it was a brilliant header from a fantastically timed run, real credit to him.
The second half was wonderful. We ran them ragged. The centre-backs on either side of Botman — Burn and Thiaw — began pressing much higher when we were out of possession, and then started joining the attacks, with BDB in particular regularly loping up the touchline. This allowed Hall and Miley to come inside more, offering overloads in the middle of the pitch and helping us progress the ball forward more quickly. A really smart tactical move by Eddie Howe.
As much as the players deserve plaudits for the performance, last night showed just how lucky we are to have Eddie in charge. He doesn’t get it right every game, but this was such a clever, nuanced, and well-thought-out plan, and I don’t think there are many other managers capable of concocting something of that level. Willock seemed to be given the perfect role for his skill set — carrying the ball, galloping into space, then tucking into a narrow four out of possession. He was brilliant.
Elanga was a good choice in that role too. I’m glad he got the nod over Barnes, because his pace was invaluable. PSG’s defence often had one extra player back than was necessary and I strongly believe that was to counter Elanga’s threat.
Ramsey looks like he’s settling really nicely; he didn’t stop running, and there were several moments where I noticed him reading the game as well as Sandro. He’s clearly got a real football brain.
The 5-4-1 — or 3-4-2-1, or whatever it was — looked great for us. I genuinely think it could be the way forward away from home against good sides. I made the point that Villa’s flexibility over our rigidity undid us at the weekend but I’m happy to make a hypocrite of myself. Last night, our rigidity is what made us dominant. Everyone had a job and they all did it superbly well. Shows what I know, eh?
If only Willock had started his run half a second later (another great finish though), or the ball had fallen slightly better for Barnes at the end, and we would have been celebrating a victory that we were well worth. Although it was not to be, that was an incredibly encouraging performance given the run of fixtures we have coming up.
I’ll briefly mention the referee and VAR.
I try not to be conspiracy-minded but it’s becoming increasingly difficult not to be. The penalty decision was baffling: it hits Barcola’s hand, then hits Miley’s from less than a yard away as he’s running. I genuinely don’t understand how anyone remotely associated with football can give that as a penalty. The Marquinhos one — although I don’t think it was a pen either — was far more convincing. His arm was away from his body, the ball travelled a long way before it hit him, and Woltemade didn’t touch it. VAR checked it for about a second.
Then Elanga got booked for being fouled. I’ve watched and played football for God knows how long and I’ve never seen that before in my life. He didn’t say anything to the bar steward in blue, so I’ve no idea what the yellow was for.
One thing I haven’t seen mentioned much, but I’m certain about, is the Doué stamp on Botman. Botman slid in, won the ball cleanly, and then Doué’s foot landed very suspiciously on his calf. Personally, I thought it was intentional. Again, nothing from VAR.
I’m not sure I’d have given the Gordon penalty either but I was more convinced by the Burn tackle. I thought they were supposed to have cracked down on holding and wrestling in the box? Apparently not.
All in all, a night to be proud of. On to Anfield with the same set up and we might just have a famous night on our hands.