Last March, when they were preparing to take on Liverpool in the final of the Carabao Cup, Newcastle limbered up for their Wembley appearance, which came exactly a year ago today, by heading to London and claiming a much-needed 1-0 win at West Ham that significantly improved their league position.
Fast forward 12 months, and the Magpies were back in London at the weekend recording another morale-boosting 1-0 win, this time at Chelsea, that saw them climb back into the top half of the table to boost their hopes of finishing in a European qualification spot.
Last season, Newcastle followed up their win at West Ham by belying their underdog status to beat Liverpool and end a 70-year wait for a domestic trophy by lifting the Carabao Cup.
Eddie Howe’s side will start Wednesday’s second-leg tie in Spain as the outsiders, but with Saturday’s Stamford Bridge success having bolstered confidence, Murphy is hoping to spring another surprise against Barcelona.
“We spoke about the importance of getting a good result [at Chelsea],” said the winger. “Going in the Carabao Cup game, we had West Ham just before. We won that, and that gave us confidence and momentum going into the final because we’d been on a tough run just before then.
“We viewed this as the same sort of opportunity, the same situation. It wasn’t about holding about anything back for Wednesday. It was about going to Chelsea, being on the front foot trying to go forward, to get the result.
“And then, ultimately, the three points were also about putting ourselves back into contention for the European spots, and that has. It was objective complete, I’d say.”
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Newcastle have been involved in some huge occasions since Howe took charge after the club’s current Saudi Arabian owners completed their buyout of Mike Ashley, but Wednesday’s visit to one of the most iconic stadiums in world football promises to be something extra-special.
The Magpies got themselves into a wonderful position when Harvey Barnes opened the scoring in last week’s first leg at St James’ Park, and while Lamine Yamal’s successful conversion of a stoppage-time penalty tilted the balance of the tie back in Barcelona’s favour, Newcastle showed more than enough as an attacking force to suggest they can trouble the current La Liga leaders.
Barcelona limbered up for Wednesday’s second-leg decider with a 5-1 thrashing of Sevilla yesterday – Raphinha scored a hat-trick as Yamal was rested before coming on as a second-half substitute – but Howe has been working on a gameplan designed to give Newcastle the best possible chance of engineering an upset.
Anthony Gordon is set to continue playing through the middle, having run the Chelsea defence ragged at the weekend, while Sandro Tonali and Joelinton should both return to the starting side provided the former has successfully recovered from the illness that led to him missing out at Chelsea.
At various stages in Howe’s reign, Newcastle have produced their best against the best, something Murphy hopes will happen again this week. Newcastle’s players are relishing the chance to take on Barcelona at the Nou Camp – but they want to compete as equals rather than travelling to the Catalan capital as star-struck football tourists.
“Any Champions League game is special, whether it’s Baku or Milan,” said Murphy. “Every game has its own special moment and special feel. This is going to be another occasion for us to enjoy. But we’ve got a game plan and a mentality to go into it with, and we’re going there to win the game.”
It remains to be seen whether it is Murphy or Anthony Elanga getting the nod to start on Newcastle’s right-hand side, but the former certainly did his prospects no harm as he took the game to Chelsea at the weekend.
Not only did Murphy start on the right flank, he also wore the captain’s armband from the start of a game for the first time in his nine-year Newcastle career.
The 31-year-old was promoted to Newcastle’s leadership group after Jamaal Lascelles left in January, with Saturday’s stint as captain further highlighting the faith Howe has in him.
“It was amazing,” said Murphy, when asked about the experience of leading the side out at Stamford Bridge. “I got told on the morning and I was grinning for a long time. I was delighted to get that, it’s been a lot of hard work.
“The loyalty and trust that the manager showed in me to give me the armband, it means a lot. I’m delighted to be able to lead these men out to war.”