It’s been a long, long time since Newcastle United were last in the Champions League group stages, and whilst the matches they’re going to play in the 2023/24 campaign will surely be amongst the competition’s most epic, Eddie Howe would almost certainly have preferred an easier ride.
There’s no doubt that the Magpies have landed in what many would term the ‘group of death,’ given that they’ll be playing Paris Saint-Germain, Borussia Dortmund and AC Milan.
The #UCL draw in full ? pic.twitter.com/5aUSPOGY2e
— FUN88 (@fun88eng) August 31, 2023
How Newcastle fare at home in those fixtures could arguably determine if they’re able to progress into the knockout rounds, but even the most fervent supporter of the club will understand it’s a tall order.
That said, Howe has his team playing well and they’ll be as much of a handful for their opponents when on home soil as the likes of Kylian Mbappe will be for them.
It shouldn’t be forgotten that Barcelona were beaten on Tyneside all those years ago, and whilst the team that Howe has under his tutelage aren’t as far advanced as Kevin Keegan’s swashbuckler’s were, they are capable of taking the game by the scruff of the neck and ensuring an atmosphere at St. James’ Park that will be nothing like some of the opposition will have heard before.
To be the best you have to beat the best, and it’s time for Newcastle to prove that they are really going places.