As Newcastle United royalty in Alan Shearer put it in the build-up, Newcastle's Premier League showdown with Sunderland on Sunday was a "must-win".
Indeed, the Magpies needed to put in a far better showing than their second-leg collapse in the Champions League at the hands of Barcelona, when facing their fiercest rivals.
Unfortunately, while they didn't get humiliated to the same levels as that defeat at the Camp Nou, they would still come away from the Tyne-Wear Derby empty-handed, as Brian Brobbey scored a last-gasp winner for the Black Cats in a 2-1 loss.
Newcastle-5
Several Newcastle players let their side down as they returned to Premier League action, as the Toon's top-four chances now look non-existent.
What went wrong for Newcastle against Sunderland
Everything looked as if it was going to be rosy for Newcastle when Anthony Gordon capitalised on a Luke O'Nien error to gift Eddie Howe's men the lead after just ten minutes had been played.
Instead, the more the contest dragged on, the more the Magpies showed a lack of fight and bite, leading to Chemsdine Talbi bundling home an equaliser, before the winger wheeled away in celebration to break Newcastle hearts.
The Newcastle defenders could have arguably done better for the Sunderland equaliser, with the likes of Lewis Hall weak at the back throughout, when only winning three of eight attempted duels.
In attack, as well, Newcastle lacked a cutting edge, minus Gordon's fortuitous opener, with Anthony Elanga squandering two efforts on Melker Ellborg's goal, one of which included a diving header in the opening exchanges.
Anthony-Elanga
Moreover, Nick Woltemade could only muster up one effort at the Black Cats' net, away from assisting Gordon's goal, as Sunderland just grew in confidence the more the Magpies took their foot off the gas.
That being said, Woltemade and Elanga were not the only ones to blame.
Newcastle star must be dropped after Sunderland
It was an afternoon where Newcastle's key performers, unfortunately, retreated into their shells.
The Toon weren't helped in the build-up by the fact that Sandro Tonali was ruled out through injury, but more would have expected of Joelinton in the middle of the park in his absence, as the usually vibrant midfielder only mustered up one weak effort at Ellborg's goal.
Joelinton
Alongside Joelinton, Harvey Barnes equally floundered on such a big stage for the hosts, which is unusual for the former Leicester City attacker, considering he has bagged 14 goals this season, six of which have come in the Champions League.
The number 11 just couldn't get into the scrappy contest, with only 28 touches of the ball coming his way. Even Aaron Ramsdale in the Toon goal would manage more touches and indeed more passes, coming in at a far heftier 57 and 30.
Barnes' performance in numbers
Minutes played
Goals scored
Assists
Touches
Accurate passes
Key passes
Shots
Successful dribbles
Total duels won
Only managing one effort at goal, too, much like Joelinton and Woltemade, Sunderland had a comfortable afternoon dealing with the usually rapid and hard-to-contain winger, who failed to complete a single direct dribble from three attempts.
He also just couldn't keep up with the high-octane nature of the match-up, as he lost 83% of his duels as a weak member of Howe's losing hosts.
William Osula tried to inject the match with more energy when the Dane came on in place of the FA Cup winner during the last 14 minutes, with the 28-year-old perhaps a first-team casualty when Howe and Co play Crystal Palace in mid-April.
Harvey Barnes for Newcastle-1
Osula didn't manage to turn around the tense showdown, as he did so against Manchester United with that memorable winner, when he mustered up only seven touches of the ball.
Howe will be pondering what to go with up top for that trip to Selhurst Park; therefore, with Barnes - and many others - letting him down, as he now tastes two Tyne-Wear Derby defeats on the spin.
The long-standing Toon boss will need to change something up to try and go against these stale performances, with the Tyneside giants in grave danger of unfortunately slumping to mid-table mediocrity, come the end of the bumpy season, instead of finishing inside the coveted Champions League spots.
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