What Barca bench did in 94th minute was telling as fiery NUFC stars pulled apart

CommentsLee Ryder Chief Newcastle United Writer10:00, 11 Mar 2026Updated 10:00, 11 Mar 2026Newcastle United had Barcelona exactly where they wanted them - and Hansi Flick knew as much.

A Barcelona side who had won three trophies last season and reached the semi-finals of the Champions League last spring, were on the ropes after a gutsy effort from the Magpies. The truth is 1-0 may not have been the ideal scoreline for Newcastle had they clinged on to their slender lead but it would have been rich reward for a night of hard work.

The dream scoreline would have been 2-0 or 3-0, but the stakes could not be higher at this stage in the competition as the cream of Europe now start showing what they are made of. A glance at other results last night should tell you that as Atletico Madrid thumped Spurs 5-2 and Bayern Munich enjoyed a cakewalk in Bergamo with a 6-1 hammering of Serie A side Atalanta.

But the reality is Barca were not close to their top level against Newcastle, and perhaps the biggest regret should be that United did not make the most of it when they could. Eddie Howe's side did brilliantly well to keep Barca and Lamine Yamal quiet in the first half, and referee Marco Guida incredibly failed to book the teenager after he hauled back Lewis Hall.

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A yellow card would have made the second leg a lot easier of course with Yamal knowing he'd have been banned for the concluding tie. As the second half wore on, and just like the first half. Anthony Elanga and William Osula wasted openings and that dream healthy advantage could have been in place.

Howe spotted that things weren't clicking the way they should and introduced Jacob Murphy instead, with the winger getting a valuable assist to set up Harvey Barnes for an 86th-minute goal. We'd all have taken 1-0 at that point and it would have been hats off to the coaching team and players.

But Newcastle then pressed self-destruct in the 94th minute as Dani Olmo went down following Malick Thiaw's late clip. Was it a soft penalty? Absolutely, but this is European football, and Serie A ref Guida had been desperate to take centre stage all evening, so it was little wonder he could not point to the spot in dramatic style quickly enough.

That was the cue for the Barca bench to celebrate wildly before the spot-kick had even been converted. The visiting dugout saw coaches and subs burst on to the edge of the pitch knowing they were about to get away with one!

Yamal got his moment and was never going to miss, given he'd failed to score from the spot recently against Girona and was always going to be doubly determined to get this one right.

The inquest from Newcastle players was immediate, but rather than complain about a soft penalty, they blamed themselves. Anthony Gordon had tried to release Sandro Tonali but lost possession.

That led to Joelinton blowing his top with Gordon who made a costly mistake in a crucial game for the second time in the space of a fortnight after an error against Everton.

After the game German coach Flick was humble in the Press room, he admitted Barca were poor: “We didn’t play a good game with the ball," he said. "We lost possession too many times and made a lot of mistakes.

"That’s what Newcastle United wanted. In the end they are a team that looks for that and thrives on recoveries and transitions. What I want to praise about my team today is that we defended together. Defensively, we were good, and that’s what I’m satisfied with."

So it was all a bit of a hard luck story for Newcastle in the end, the only deep regret is Barca surely won't fluff their lines twice.

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