Newcastle: Howe relishing magic of ‘historic’ Barcelona fixture as Magpies seek Champions League consistency

Eddie Howe is anticipating an incredible atmosphere at St James’ Park when Newcastle United host Barcelona in their Champions League opener.

A meeting with the LaLiga champions represents a daunting start to Newcastle’s second Champions League campaign in three seasons, but it is also a fixture with great sentiment for the club.

The Magpies famously beat Barcelona 3-2 in the Champions League 28 years ago on Wednesday, with Faustino Asprilla scoring a hat-trick.

Additionally, there is an indelible link between the two clubs through the career of the late Sir Bobby Robson, who led Barcelona to Copa del Rey and European Cup Winners’ Cup glory in 1997 and later faced them as manager of boyhood club Newcastle in the 2002-03 Champions League.

Robson’s time at Barca was brief, but he was a key influence for Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho and also managed Luis Enrique in his season in charge at Camp Nou.

That history is sure to stir up plenty of emotion on Tyneside when the two clubs renew acquaintances, and Howe is eager to embrace the occasion.

“It’s a historic fixture. As soon as we realised we were drawn against Barcelona it had a magical feel to it,” Howe told his pre-match press conference.

“It’ll be an amazing game to experience. I’m focused on tactical preparation and making sure we deliver a good performance. I’m really excited to sample the atmosphere. I know it will be incredible.”

Howe seeking consistency

While Howe is excited at the prospect of at least four Champions League home games at St James’ Park, he was keen to stress his primary focus is results, with Newcastle aiming to progress from the league phase having gone out in the group stage in 2023-24, the final season before the format was changed.

“That’s the challenge we are looking to take on,” Howe said of progressing from the league phase.

“Yes, we want magical nights, we want those moments that everyone remembers. One off games are great but you also want consistent results. I’m sure during this Champions League season we’ll have games where we don’t perform as well but we have to find a way even in those moments to generate positive results.”

Newcastle finished bottom of a group featuring Paris Saint-Germain, Borussia Dortmund and AC Milan in their last Champions League campaign, that gauntlet ultimately proving too much for an injury-hit squad as they were eliminated with a home defeat to Milan on the final matchday.

But Newcastle did thrash PSG 4-1 at home while earning draws at the Parc des Princes and at the San Siro against Milan.

And Howe believes his group of players will be better this time around for the testing experience of that season.

“There are things we can take from that game but there are things we can take from the whole experience,” Howe said of the memorable win over PSG.

“Ultimately we didn’t progress beyond the group stage which was a disappointment but we can use those experiences to help us. For this game, which is all we can focus on, it’s about trying to get a positive result.

“The experience, the size and the magnitude of the games – everything that goes into the Champions League is different to the Premier League.

“The build-up is different, the feel is different. Having done that before certainly helps us and the squad is arguably stronger. I back the quality that we have. They are tough fixtures for us. The early games are really important because they set the foundations.”

Gordon in Howe’s thoughts

While new signing Yoane Wissa is out until after the next international break because of a knee injury, record signing Nick Woltemade will be aiming to build on his winning goal against Wolves last weekend, while Newcastle will also be able to call on forward Anthony Gordon.

Gordon has served two games of a three-match domestic suspension following a red card against Liverpool last month, but he is free to face Barca, with his availability a welcome boost as Newcastle visit Bournemouth in the Premier League three days later.

“He’s good. He’s in my thoughts for tomorrow,” Howe said of Gordon.

“He’s an outstanding player and you can’t have enough of those. We’ll look to utilise him. Whether we think that’s from the start of the game let’s wait and see.

“He brings a pace and directness to our forward line which you always need. It’s an important season for him in his career and we’re looking forward to helping him reach the very highest levels.”

One player who is certain to be involved is captain Bruno Guimaraes, who has sights set on going much further than in 2023-24.

Newcastle are the clear underdogs against Barca, but Guimaraes said: “We don’t want to put limits on our dreams. We want to take it game by game and see what we get.

“We are very excited and we hope we can go as far as possible.”