Unfortunately, Newcastle’s journey in Europe has come to an end. The atmosphere in Tyneside was filled with mixed feelings as Samuel Chukwueze, who had just been substituted onto the field for Milan, scored with his first touch, securing their spot in the Europa League. This also meant that Eddie Howe’s opportunities became limited.
Unfortunately, the truth is that Howe’s tired team will not be making any more midweek trips to the continent this season. This came as a disappointing surprise to devastated Newcastle fans, after an evening where Milan was mostly on the defensive and faced strong pressure from Joelinton and his team.
After Joelinton scored for Newcastle, they were on track to secure a spot in the Champions League round of 16. However, Paris Saint-Germain’s draw at Dortmund ended up being enough for the French team to claim that spot.
However, a tie would have sufficed for Newcastle to secure a spot in the Europa League. Unfortunately, after Christian Pulisic scored an equalizer for Stefano Pioli’s team, fatigue started to affect the intensity of Howe’s aggressive high pressure tactics. This allowed Rafael Leão and his teammates to see a chance to capitalize.
After Leão’s missed opportunity, it seemed like Milan would not be able to score. However, Pioli made three strategic substitutions that proved to be successful. Luka Jovic and Noah Okafor, who were both new to the game, played crucial roles in the winning goal. They contributed to a beautiful passing sequence that ended with Chukwueze scoring a minute later, beating Martin Dubravka.
Before the match, much of the discussion revolved around Loris Karius, who is currently the third-choice goalkeeper for Newcastle. There was speculation that he might play in his first Champions League game since his poor performance in the 2018 final for Liverpool. However, Dubravka was able to play after passing a late fitness test. This meant that Karius had to sit on a smaller substitutes bench with only seven players.
The recent injury crisis at St James’ Park has resulted in Newcastle’s three consecutive losses. However, this did not discourage their manager from urging his team to “attack with full force.”
They lived up to expectations by consistently pushing Milan into defensive dead ends and attacking dead ends while Pioli anxiously paced in his designated area.
However, despite Milan’s makeshift defense with only Fikayo Tomori as a fit specialist center-half, Newcastle’s initial aggressive attack did not result in as much as it had seemed. Although Mike Maignan was visibly relieved when Kieran Trippier’s free-kick lacked enough dip to pose a threat, Pioli’s goalkeeper was not tested as much as Howe may have anticipated.
However, he was unable to make a move until Joelinton’s shot was blocked by the impressive Tomori. This interception prevented Miguel Almirón from scoring as he was about to tap the ball into the goal.
Howe may have been disappointed that Almirón chose to wait for the ball to drop onto his left foot instead of shooting with his right foot, which allowed Tomori to make a move.
Dubravka, on the other hand, faced little challenge as Olivier Giroud and his teammates had difficulty putting pressure on Newcastle’s recovering goalkeeper. While Leão, the talented left winger from Milan, occasionally displayed his ability to disrupt the pace of the game, such as tricking Trippier before shooting wide, he appeared to be the only threat on the counter-attack.
During extended time periods, Newcastle did not resemble the same team that allowed seven goals in their last two matches against Everton and Tottenham. At certain points, Milan was unsure how to deal with them and had difficulty finding a consistent passing flow.
Hats off to the 17-year-old academy graduate Lewis Miley whose characteristically smart pass paved the way for Joelinton to nearly lift the roof off the stadium by shooting Newcastle into a deserved 33rd-minute lead.
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After controlling the ball, Joelinton’s subsequent attempt from the outskirts of the box soared past Maignan. Howe’s midfielder on the left side joined Newcastle for a hefty fee of £40m as a centre-forward and took pleasure in showcasing why he was once considered a potential successor to Alan Shearer by scouts.
Milan’s frustration led them to rely more heavily on optimistic long passes, while Maignan expressed his displeasure with the lack of protection from the referee by arguing aggressively and receiving a yellow card for dissent.
The goalkeeper from the opposing team may have had a valid reason for not wanting to be tackled by Joelinton, but his exaggerated response represented the underlying tensions within a Serie A team. This is evident as the American owners have recently brought in Zlatan Ibrahimovic as a special advisor.
Ibrahimovic would have likely converted the good opportunity to shoot that Wilson missed at the start of the second half. However, the ex-Milan and Sweden player may have found some faint reasons for optimism as Newcastle started to struggle and Pioli’s team began to have more possession towards the end of the second half.
All of a sudden, even the exceptional Joelinton started to seem like a regular person. Howe must have hoped that Sandro Tonali, his former midfielder from Milan, wasn’t currently suspended for 10 months due to breaking Italian betting rules.
The manager of Newcastle was displeased when Pulisic tied the game with a goal from a play that involved Tomori receiving a deep cross from Leão but then missing his shot attempt. However, Giroud managed to pass the ball across the goal for Pulisic to score from six yards, resulting in a 1-1 tie.
Despite Maignan performing wonders to somehow tip Bruno Guimarães’s gloriously curving shot on to the crossbar, Leão, clean through, shot fractionally wide with the goal at his mercy. He thought he had blown Milan’s chances, but Chukwueze had other ideas.
Source: theguardian.com
