After drawing 1-1 at St James' Park, the Magpies travelled to the Camp Nou with ambitions intact of reaching the quarter-finals. The opening period of the second leg demonstrated encouragement with two equalisers from Anthony Elanga bringing the score to 2-2 on the evening, but Newcastle were subsequently overrun. Shortly before half-time, Lamine Yamal slotted home a penalty to hand his side the advantage, which they didn't let slip again. A barrage in the second half saw the tie conclude 8-3 on aggregate. Spanish publications have delivered a brutal appraisal of the Premier League outfit.
Marca
All six Premier League clubs that qualified for the Champions League this campaign reached the round of 16, but only Arsenal and Liverpool have progressed to the quarter-finals. Marca challenged the superiority of English top-flight teams following Newcastle's loss, stating: "Didn't they say the Premier League was something out of this world?
"We've heard countless times in recent months that the Premier League is almost otherworldly, home to the undisputed best teams in the sport. But there's plenty of talent here, too. When Barca shifted into high gear in the second half, the Magpies just faded away.
"Barcelona upped the tempo and prevailed through quality and physicality. Another myth about English teams is that they are physically stronger than Spanish ones. That wasn't the impression Newcastle gave at the Camp Nou."
Mundo Deportivo
Newcastle's players were individually assessed by Mundo Deportivo on the evening and the publication was especially critical of several stars.
It reported that Dan Burn "shrunk" in the match and wrote: "After the break, the giant looked small." On Sandro Tonali, it was written: "He held the midfield, but ended up overwhelmed and injured."
Anthony Gordon didn't escape the criticism, with a report reading: "Gordon was missing. There were some nice touches in the first half, but more was expected."
Malick Thiaw was supposedly "swept away" and of the substitutes, the outlet claimed: "Jacob Murphy went unnoticed. He only touched the ball three times in half an hour. Poor performance."
AS
Whilst some criticised Newcastle for how they performed in the second half, AS emphasised the courageous effort Howe's side mounted in the opening 45 minutes. Though its reports do portray the defeat as crushing.
AS wrote: "The first half was tightly contested, but the second half was a ruthless display. Newcastle came out as if Camp Nou were St James' and intimidated with their pressure. But this time the Blaugrana knew how to interpret the English team's high line.
"Barcelona came out in the second half in killer mode. Their dominance after the break was undeniable. In 20 minutes, from the 52nd to the 72nd, they massacred the English side. The onslaught at the start of the second half left Newcastle in a state of shock. The Magpies hadn't seen anything like it for many years and were just trying to minimise the damage."