While five English clubs celebrated, Newcastle were left to rue a missed opportunity. Their 1-1 draw away at PSG, combined with Chelsea's victory, means Eddie Howe’s men must negotiate the play-offs in February. They will face either Monaco or Qarabag in a two-legged tie to determine if they can join their Premier League rivals in the last 16. If successful, a daunting clash against Barcelona or Chelsea awaits.
The failure to qualify automatically has severe scheduling consequences. Newcastle now face a brutal February consisting of eight matches, including the two European ties, four Premier League games, a Carabao Cup semi-final second leg against Manchester City, and an FA Cup fourth-round trip to Aston Villa.
"Of course we wanted to go through automatically, but we won't look at those games as a negative," Howe insisted. "We're in a busy schedule... but we have a conscientious group of players and this is just another challenge they've got to rise to."
The play-off round features some shock inclusions. Real Madrid were dumped out of the top eight after Sporting CP scored a 94th-minute winner against Athletic Bilbao, ensuring the Portuguese side finished seventh. Jose Mourinho came back to haunt his old club as goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin scored a last-minute goal to seal a 4-3 win and seal the last play-off place for Benfica.