Mar 19, 2026, 09:54 AM
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Eddie Howe is determined to make arch-rivals Sunderland pay for Newcastle's Champions League heartache.
The Magpies travelled to Barcelona on Wednesday night with high hopes of pulling off a shock after enjoying the better of the round of 16 first-leg clash at St James' Park, but only coming away with a 1-1 draw.
However, they left Camp Nou on the wrong end of a remarkable 7-2 scoreline and while that did not tell the full story of an eventful evening, they have no time to lick their wounds ahead of Sunday lunchtime's derby clash on Tyneside.
Newcastle were thrashed by Barcelona and next face Sunderland. Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images
Asked how he picked himself up after such a bruising end to what at times promised to be a special night in Spain, Howe said: "I've got no problem picking myself up, it's more the players. I'm able to move quite quickly through things, the game and the review process, to then think of the future very quickly.
"Now it's all about Sunderland, it's not about what's happened. It's about learning from it and evolving and changing if we need to.
"It's about the next game and making sure we're mentally ready, physically ready for what's going to be a huge game for us and for the whole city, so I think that's quite a good game for us to go straight into because there's no time for any other thought than that."
Even had the Magpies returned having booked a place in the last eight of Europe's most prestigious club competition, the stakes would have been just as high this weekend after their 1-0 defeat at the Stadium of Light in December.
Newcastle simply did not turn up that day as they slipped to a seventh defeat in 10 league outings against their neighbours courtesy of record signing Nick Woltemade's own goal and Howe, who guided his side to a 3-0 FA Cup win at Sunderland in January 2024, is well aware of what is at stake.
He said: "It's huge. There's no point talking about it though, we've just got to play. We've got to play like our lives depend on it.
"It's such a big game for the city, for our supporters, for everyone connected with the club. We know that. We knew it before the first game and we know it even more now.
"We need to deal with this very quickly and then move on to Sunday."
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Howe, who has a significant doubt over key midfielder Sandro Tonali after he limped off with a groin problem, saw his side cancel out goals from Raphinha and Marc Bernal through Anthony Elanga's double before collapsing in an error-strewn capitulation in the wake of Lamine Yamal's penalty in first-half stoppage time.
Fermín López, Robert Lewandowski's brace and Raphinha's second did the damage as Barca put down their resurgence in brutal fashion.
Howe said: "Our performance dropped, that was very clear. The first four goals, you can't concede. Two set-plays is unforgivable to a degree because you know how good they are in other aspects of their game."