Newcastle must gain something from its two away games, according to Eddie Howe.
EDDIE HOWE has acknowledged that if Newcastle United wants to go to the Champions League knockout stages, they would most likely need to learn something from their next two away games.
The Magpies’ 1-0 loss to Borussia Dortmund last night has dropped them to third place in Group F, two points behind pool leaders Paris St. Germain and even on points with Dortmund.
In two weeks, Newcastle will visit Signal Iduna Park in Dortmund. At the end of the month, they will travel to the Parc des Princes to play Paris St. Germain.
They play their final group match at home against AC Milan, but Howe acknowledges that if they don’t gain any ground on their travels, their fate may already be decided by then.
“Things were always going to be tight,” the Magpies’ manager stated. We lost to Dortmund, especially at home, and it is a blow to us because the group is full of elite teams. However, we must accept it.
“It’s critical that we attempt to learn from our next two extremely difficult away games. We’re playing elite teams, and we’ve probably already learned how narrow the margins will be.
“In the group, nothing is lost. There are still some difficult games ahead of us, but we’re still in there and still battling.
“The next two away games will most likely be crucial. The next two games will be crucial because the league table appears to be quite tight. We ought to treat them like the fantastic games that they are.
“I’m sure the atmosphere in Dortmund will be amazing when we visit, but we need to perform just as well there as they did when they played us at home.”
Newcastle’s defeat by Dortmund served as a sobering reminder of life at the top after they had easily defeated Paris St. Germain in their previous Champions League home encounter.
Howe stated, “Since it’s the elite, the highest level, any little mistake you make is likely to get punished.” We almost broke away ourselves with that one we made right before halftime, but we gave up a few seconds later.
“We could have done better in the game, but that’s a great example of the caliber of the Champions League.” We’ll learn a lot about the game when we examine it objectively, but we’re certainly upset with the outcome.
It simply goes to prove, in my opinion, that winning at this level requires excellence. At this level, it’s quite difficult to produce results if you fall below that.
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