Bruno Guimaraes hits out at Champions League U-turn as Newcastle United finally have something to cheer

Newcastle United drew 1-1 at Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League on Tuesday night - an impressive result that doesn't quite tell the full story of the game. Here are five talking points.

Unchanged Newcastle United as Lewis Miley makes Champions League start

As expected, Newcastle United named the same side that started the 4-1 win against Chelsea on Saturday for the midweek trip to the Parc des Princes. Head coach Eddie Howe was left with little other choice as his bench consisted of just two senior outfield players in Paul Dummett and 19-year-old Lewis Hall due to the club's brutal injury situation.

But that adversity has brought opportunity for 17-year-old Lewis Miley, who made his third consecutive start for The Magpies. It's easy to forget he wasn't even close to being born the last time Newcastle were in the Champions League over 20 years ago.

Newcastle United fans finally have something to celebrate in Europe

Newcastle fans headed to Paris knowing in the back of their minds it could be their final European away day of the season. While trips to AC Milan and Borussia Dortmund brought plenty of joy away from the football pitch, supporters had very little to cheer at the San Siro or Signal Iduna Park.

No goals and just one point from their two away trips certainly stacked the odds against The Magpies as they prepared to take on a PSG side who hadn't lost a Champions League group stage match at Parc des Princes in over a decade. But Howe's side seem to have unwillingly reserved their best performances for the Ligue 1 champions.

After a strong start from PSG, Newcastle quickly gained their composure and started to create chances themselves. Alexander Isak came close after some great work from Miguel Almiron down the left side to set up the opportunity.

It was an excellent chance for the Swede, but he quickly made amends by pouncing on Miguel Almiron's shot to give Newcastle the lead. It was a role reversal of United's opening goal against the French outfit at St James' Park last month and the club's first Champions League goal away from home since Alan Shearer's strike at the San Siro in 2003.

And with it, another historic European result was on the cards.

PSG's strong reaction

Almiron's spilt shot by Gianluigi Donnarumma and Isak's rebound were Newcastle's only two shots on target in the game as their mission turned to protecting their slender lead. There were chances to extend it as Isak and Anthony Gordon burst through only to be contentiously denied by PSG defender Milan Škriniar on the edge of the area.

Škriniar appeared to handle the ball when on the floor after stopping Isak going through while he took out Gordon in the second half and was punished with a yellow card. Kieran Trippier hit the resulting free-kick over and, other than that, Newcastle would be made to defend for almost the entirety of the second half.

The home side had a total of 31 shots on goal to Newcastle's five. Nick Pope made seven saves in the match including some point-blank stops to deny Kylian Mbappe and Bradley Barcola whilst Ousmane Dembele squandered a number of chances.

But just when you think it's going to be Newcastle's day, they are hit with a hammer blow.

Champions League penalty controversy as Bruno Guimaraes hits out

Newcastle were minutes away from securing a historic Champions League away win when disaster struck and Dembele's pass ricocheted off Tino Livramento's chest and skimmed his elbow. No penalty was given initially but the decision was overturned following PSG protests and a VAR review.

And Mbappe made no mistake from the spot with PSG's 31st and final shot of the match in the 98th minute. A bitter pill to swallow after Newcastle's defensive resilience against one of the most potent attacking sides in Europe.

What makes matters worse is that the U-turn decision appears to go against UEFA guidance issued at the end of last season.

A UEFA statement from April 2023 read: "In their guidelines for next season, the Board recommends that UEFA should clarify that no handball offence should be called on a player if the ball is previously deflected from his own body and, in particular, when the ball does not go toward the goal."

Newcastle players were quick to voice their apparent dissatisfaction with the decision while also keeping their comments vague enough to avoid punishment.

Brazilian midfielder Bruno Guimaraes wrote on Instagram: "Sometimes in life, you have to accept some decisions that you know are wrong and not being able to do anything for that makes me sick. Life is at is is."

Magpies boss Howe also slammed the decision while attempting to maintain his respect to the officials.

He said: "I'm still coming to terms with it. I feel really flat but at the same time really pleased with what the players gave today.

"Their commitment, execution...We rode our luck. We ran out of luck at the end. I didn't think it was a penalty."

What are the permutations for Newcastle United?

Failing to win significantly dents Newcastle's hopes of progressing through to the last-16, but the draw keeps hope very much alive. A win would have left The Magpies simply needing to avoid defeat against AC Milan and at least equal PSG's result at Borussia Dortmund.

Instead, United head into the Milan game needing to win and also hoping PSG fail to win at the Signal Iduna Park. While Dortmund are already through, it's still very much all to play for heading into the final group stage matches.