Eddie Howe asked to clarify 'massive' Newcastle United claim ahead of Barcelona Champions League clash
Newcastle United will be looking to bounce back from Saturday’s FA Cup defeat to Manchester City against Barcelona in the Champions League on Tuesday night.
Eddie Howe has described Newcastle United’s Champions League last-16 first leg against Barcelona as ‘the biggest game in the club’s history’.
The Magpies host Barcelona at St James’ Park for the second time this season having been beaten 2-1 in their opening Champions League match back in September.
It’s the club’s first-ever last-16 knockout tie in the Champions League and comes amid a tough run of fixtures across multiple competitions.
After beating Manchester United 2-1 in the Premier League last Wednesday at St James’ Park, Newcastle exited the FA Cup with a 3-1 defeat at home to Manchester City. Howe will be hoping for a response from his side in the Champions League on Tuesday evening (8pm kick-off) and take something into the second leg at the Nou Camp on March 18 (5:45pm kick-off).
After the first leg, Newcastle travel to Chelsea and after the second they host rivals Sunderland in two crucial Premier League fixtures. And having lost a direct route into Europe via the FA Cup over the weekend, Newcastle will now need to improve their league form or achieve a minor miracle and win the Champions League in order to qualify for Europe again.
‘The biggest game’ in NUFC’s history
Following the Man City defeat, Howe said: “My focus is really short-term and it's trying to win the game that's in front of me and that's Barcelona in the Champions League.
“I think we have to be, as much as it's easy to be very negative in this moment and I understand we've gone out of the FA Cup but we have the biggest game in the club's history coming up in no time at all.
“We've got to get the players ready for that, we've got no time to dwell on this.”
Howe describing Tuesday’s match as ‘the biggest game’ in Newcastle’s history, was a bold claim during his post-match press conference that he was later asked to clarify.
“Well, we've never been in this position in the Champions League before,” Howe said. “And it's the best competition there is. So I think for obvious reasons, I think it's a massive game in our history. And we need to approach it that way.
“We need the supporters to think that way. And we need to try and find some energy from somewhere that will elevate our performance to a level that we've not seen before this season. Because I think that's the only way we'll get through.”
Eddie Howe snubs Man Utd & Liverpool matches in favour of Barcelona
In terms of prestige and financial reward, the two legs against Barcelona can be argued as being among the ‘biggest’ in Newcastle’s history. And given Howe has managed Newcastle in two Carabao Cup finals against Manchester United and Liverpool during his tenure, winning one, the fact that he views Barcelona in the Champions League as a bigger game speaks volumes.
The winners of the last-16 tie will face either Atletico Madrid or Tottenham Hotspur in the quarter-finals of the Champions League. Spurs qualified for the Champions League after winning the Europa League despite finishing 17th in the Premier League last season.