'Irrelevant' - Eddie Howe hits back at Champions League media after major Newcastle United problem highlighted
Bayer Leverkusen 2-2 Newcastle United: A set-piece and a late goal conceded told a familiar tale for Eddie Howe’s side.
Newcastle United conceded another late goal as they drew 2-2 with Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League on Wednesday night.
A Bruno Guimaraes own goal gave Leverkusen the lead from a corner before Anthony Gordon levelled from the penalty spot early in the second half. Substitute Lewis Miley put The Magpies in front, becoming the club’s youngest ever Champions League goalscorer in the process, before Alejandro Grimaldo scored an 88th minute equaliser.
The two points dropped prevented Newcastle from returning to the top eight in the group phase and confirming progress to the next round of the competition.
A familiar theme for Newcastle United
Each of Newcastle’s last three matches has seen Gordon score a penalty, Newcastle concede from a set-piece situation as well as a goal in the final moments of the game.
Set-piece goals conceded and late goals for the opposition have been a particular problem for Eddie Howe’s side this season.
The local Newcastle media pressed Howe on the recurring theme of late goals but the Magpies boss hit back.
“I think rather than focus on the lateness of the goal, it's more the way we're conceiving currently,” Howe said after the match.
“The timing, for me, is irrelevant. The first goal in particular, to be honest, that's the one that really gets me, because we worked a lot on set plays in between the last game and we didn't defend it well enough.
“Gave ourselves a mountain to climb, and I thought the lads did really well to respond to that. But we've done the hard work, we're in front, and then there are cases we have to defend well, and we didn't for that moment.”
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On a more positive note, the match marked the first time Newcastle had came from behind to earn any points this season. It’s just particularly frustrating that it’s not all three.
Newcastle conceded their earliest goal of the season as Leverkusen went ahead and it almost went from bad to worse after Malick Thiaw brought down Patrik Schick and the referee pointed to the penalty spot only for VAR to award a free-kick instead.
“I thought the players deserve a lot of credit for that response, because you come here and you're 1-0 down, the crowd's in the game,” Howe added. “Maybe slightly fortunate in that moment where Malik [Thiaw] almost gives the penalty away.
“That was a big moment for us, that gave us the stability maybe we needed. The second half was a lot better. I thought we were more aggressive in both phases, both on our press and in possession.
“Played with more belief and looked a really good team, and we're inches away from making it 3-1 a few times. Yeah, that's really frustrating.”
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Newcastle United set to progress
Barring a miraculous turn of results in the final two game weeks, Newcastle are set to progress to the knockout stages of the Champions League for the first time.
They currently sit in a knockout round play-off place but could still secure a top eight finish by winning their final two matches against PSV Eindhoven and Paris Saint-Germain.
“We have to believe,” Howe said. “When we started the Champions League campaign, if we thought it was going to be easy, I think we're in the wrong competition.
“We've got very, very good teams. We're travelling. The game schedule that we've got, all these things you add together makes it a challenging period for us but I think the players are navigating it really well.
“I think we are playing with a clear identity and a plan which, before the international break, I was disappointed with a couple of the performances.