Sunderland owner spotted celebrating Newcastle United Champions League defeat at Marseille
Marseille 2-1 Newcastle United: Sunderland owner Kyril Louis-Dreyfus was spotted at Stade Velodrome watching the Champions League clash.
Newcastle United surrendered a 1-0 lead to lose 2-1 to Marseille at Stade Velodrome on Tuesday night.
Harvey Barnes opened the scoring in the Champions League clash before a quickfire double from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang at the start of the second half saw the hosts turn the match on its head.
The defeat ended a run of three successive wins for Newcastle in the Champions League as their poor away form continued. The Magpies have lost each of their last four away games, taking the lead in three of them only to capitulate in the second half.
Next up for Newcastle is a trip to Everton in the Premier League after that, their next away game is a trip to Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League before they face a trip to local rivals Sunderland.
The defeat in Marseille sees Newcastle drop to eighth in the Champions League group phase though they are set to drop out of the top eight following Wednesday night’s matches.
Finishing between ninth and 24th in the Champions League group phase secures progress to the knockout round play-offs while finishing in the top eight secures progress straight to the last-16 of the competition.
The win for Marseille sees them climb into the top 24 and just three points behind Newcastle with three games left to play in the group phase.
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Eddie Howe reacts to Newcastle United defeat
“[The defeat] leaves us a little bit bruised right at the second, but we'll come back,” Newcastle head coach Eddie Howe insisted. “We've got some great games ahead. This competition is never going to be straightforward for us, it's never going to be plain sailing.
“It's the elite competition it is because you're going to be challenged and stretched and it will make us a better team for all these experiences.
“Today's a tough one to take but the lads are robust, they're experienced and we're ready to fight back.”
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Sunderland owner spotted celebrating Marseille win
To add insult to injury for Newcastle at Stade Velodrome, Sunderland owner Kyril Louis-Dreyfus was spotted celebrating Marseille’s victory in the stands.
His presence can be explained by the fact his family own a 5% stake in Marseille through his mother, Margarita Louis-Dreyfus.
A minor victory for The Black Cats ahead of next month’s Tyne-Wear derby, but Newcastle can still take some comfort in knowing that the Sunderland owner watching them play at Stade Velodrome is as close as their rivals have got to Champions League football.