Shahar made his senior debut as an 87th-minute substitute for Jacob Murphy, having spent the vast majority of the season training with Newcastle’s first-team squad.
He lined up in his preferred position of right-back, where he finds himself sitting behind Trippier and the injured Tino Livramento in the current defensive pecking order.
Training with two England internationals has been quite an eye-opener for the 18-year-old, who is especially grateful for the way in which Trippier has taken him under his wing in the last few months.
“Kieran is such a good mentor for me,” said Shahar, who is an England Under-19 international. “I spoke to him after the game and he was very happy for me.
“Every little bit of information I can get from him, I do. In first-team training and being around the dressing room every day, that’s the best thing you can ask for. You are out on the training pitch with the senior pros every day and that is the best thing you can have.”
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Shahar is also appreciative of the support he has received from Eddie Howe as he has broken into the senior ranks.
Howe has been keen to include Shahar and his fellow youngster, Sean Neave, in the first-team training group at Darsley Park this season, and spent a number of minutes issuing the teenager with detailed tactical instructions before he was introduced in the closing stages of last night’s victory.
“It’s a dream,” said Shahar. “He [Howe] is such a nice guy and a great head coach. He has been helping me for the last year. In his career he was a defender, so he has a similar mind and hopefully he sees that in my game and keeps on supporting me.”
Shahar was the subject of a number of loan inquiries from clubs in the Football League in January, but Howe opted to keep the youngster on Tyneside for the second half of the season.
In part, that was driven by Newcastle’s defensive injury situation, which has seen a succession of players forced onto the sidelines this season, but it also reflects Howe’s desire to keep working with Shahar at such a key stage of his development.
“I did not go out on loan in this window, but I am happy now,” said the youngster, who joined Newcastle’s academy in 2023 after leaving Wolves. “I am in and around the first-team.
“I got this opportunity to make my debut - I have to work hard whenever I play or train. If that's playing with the Under-21s, I just have to keep working hard and that is exactly the same if I get on for the first-team, I have to do the same.”
Whatever Shahar goes on to achieve in the rest of his career, he can always take pride in making his competitive debut in the knockout stages of the Champions League.
He played a small part in helping set up a last-16 tie against either Barcelona or Chelsea – Newcastle will discover the identity of their opponents in Friday’s draw – and will never forget the moment when he was told he would be heading onto the pitch.
“It was massive,” he said. “Getting to the last 16 hasn’t been done before, so making history with Newcastle United is such a big thing for the club.
“I got called over by the coach and thought, 'Here it is, my moment’. I knew I had to relish it and get on the pitch.
“I was always hoping, based on the scoreline, that it could be my day. I have felt that for the last couple of games, so you always have to stay ready. I got my chance and I’m happy.”