Five things we learned from a dramatic game as Newcastle drew 1-1 with Barcelona at St James' Park
Kieran Trippier of Newcastle United complains to referee Marco Guida
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Newcastle United suffered late heartbreak as they drew 1-1 with Barcelona in the first leg of their Champions League last 16 clash at St James' Park.
Harvey Barnes sent St James' Park into raptures as he opened the scoring in the 86th minute but a stoppage time equaliser from the penalty spot from Lamine Yamal cruelly denied them a famous win.
It means the tie remains all square heading to the Camp Nou next week for the return leg but Newcastle showed they have the ability to hurt Hansi Flick's side.
Here's five things we learned from a pulsating night on Tyneside.
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Lamine Yamal escapes suspension - much to Newcastle's fury
Yamal proved tonight he is Barcelona's biggest threat, even if Lewis Hall did a very good job of keeping him quiet. He will undoubtedly pose a bigger threat next week in front of a 62,500-strong Camp Nou next week but he arguably shouldn't be playing.
In the first half, Yamal cynically shoved Lewis Hall to the floor and got none of the ball as he brought him down in front of the Newcastle dugout.
He inexplicably escaped a booking, much to the fury of Eddie Howe and Jason Tindall on the touchline. Referee Marco Guida warned them both to temper their reactions but the St James' Park crowd let him know their thoughts with resounding boos around the stadium.
The reason the Newcastle bench were incandescent was Yamal was one yellow card away from a one match suspension. Hopefully it doesn't return to haunt the Magpies next week.
Tindall and Flick clash
There was a bit of tension on the touchline after Will Osula cleared a Barcelona corner away towards the Newcastle dugout. Tindall was in the technical area but let the ball run past to delay Barca restarting the game.
Flick retrieved the ball before making a remark in Tindall's direction. As Flick walked away with a wry smile, Tindall remained expressionless, pretending he was none the wiser as to why the German manager was upset.
Mega Osula call speaks volumes
Howe made a huge call by selecting Will Osula from the start up front, with Anthony Gordon deemed not fit enough to start after a bout of illness.
Osula started for the second successive game after his heroic winning goal from the bench in last week's 2-1 win over Manchester United, as £124million summer signings Nick Woltemade and Yoane Wissa were snubbed up front again.
The young Danish forward has shown his potential in moments across his time at Newcastle, but they have been sparing. Certainly, from the start, he has flattered to deceive, with recent opportunities against Manchester City and Qarabag passing him by.
Osula hustled and harried well but perhaps lacked the composure at times at the killer moment, even if his pace caused the Barcelona backline some problems.
Woltemade and Wissa didn't get on the pitch at all as Newcastle were chasing the goal to hand them a priceless lead. That is a damning indictment of two players who should carry United's principal goal threat.
William Osula heads over the crossbar
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Howe's pre-match rallying cry adhered to
The pre-match messaging was clear. Howe dubbed the match the biggest in the club's history and consistently repeated the message that these nights are what he and his players have built towards for the last four-and-a-half years.
Lewis Hall repeated that message in his pre-match press conference, a number of players issued similar rallying cries on social media.
And Newcastle's players played with that intensity on the pitch. From the first minute, they pressed Barcelona relentlessly, and the pace of Anthony Elanga, Barnes and Osula caused them all sorts of problems.
The midfield trio of Joelinton, Sandro Tonali and Jacob Ramsey put in breathless performances, too, and the challenge now is for Newcastle to match that intensity level in Catalonia.
Barnes matches Shearer record
Barnes bagged his sixth Champions League goal of the season and that meant he moved level with Alan Shearer in second place in the club's Champions League goalscoring charts (excluding qualifying matches).
Only Gordon (10) has scored more in the club's history.
Sean McCormick
Sean McCormick