Two years ago, almost to the day, this blogger's beloved (and, at that stage unsellable) Magpies produced a knackerless, clueless, tactically-inept performance atypical of their style of play under their then manager, the dinosaur fraud Mister Brucie (nasty to see him, to see him nasty) and then owner, That Awful Ashley Individual, a man who knows the price of everything but the value of nothing. On the pitch that day playing for United were Sean Longstaff and Miggy Almirón. Fabian Schär was an unused substitute whom the idiot clown in charge of the team that day, clearly didn't rate. On Wednesday - a mere one hundred and four weeks and one change of ownership and manager later - Newcastle United welcomed Champions League football back to St James' Park in true style as Paris St-Germain were comprehensively overpowered in a highly charged atmosphere on Tyneside. The French champions - including the alleged 'superstar' Kylian Mbappe - found the atmosphere and intensity on-and-off the pitch far too hot to handle as Steady Eddie Howe's side secured a richly deserved win in Newcastle's first home game in Europe's elite competition since a defeat to Barcelona in March 2003. Th' Toon Army had already transformed St James' Park into four solid walls of black and white noise even before Almirón sent them total pure-dead apeshit crazy by giving United a seventeenth-minute lead after PSG keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma could only palm out Alexander Isak's shot, as Marquinhos was punished for carelessly conceding possession. It was to prove an eventful night for the Italian international goalkeeper, who tried in vain to claw out Dan Burn's towering header six minutes before half-time. The ball clearly crossed the line but Newcastle had to wait for an agonisingly long time for the video assistant referee to check for a possible offside and a possible handball before the celebrations could begin in earnest. Kieran Trippier's free-kick was sent goalwards by Sandro Tonali and clawed away by Donnarumma. Falling to Bruno on the left of the six yard box, the Brazilian tried to beat the keeper at his near post - receiving the ball back via Tonali when that effort was blocked and picked out Burn with a perfect cross. Donnarumma was also a central figure as Newcastle went three up five minutes after the break, the goalkeeper's poor attempt at a block allowing Longstaff's powerful shot from an acute angle to creep in following another fine ball from Trippier and the seeming reluctance of PSG's midfield to track runners back towards their own goal. PSG's threats were rare, but they did pull one back after fifty six minutes through a suspiciously offside looking Lucas Hernandez's header, the first goal Newcastle have conceded since their defeat at Brighton & Hove Albinos on 2 September. Maybe United should be asking UEFA for a replay like Herr Klopp? However that was as good as it got for the reigning French champions, who failed to turn their increased pressure and possession into anything meaningful - kept at bay by a home defence superbly marshalled by Jamaal Lascelles in the continued absence of Sven Botman. This was Newcastle's night - and their fans - from start to finish with Schär adding the icing on the cake in stoppage time as he curled a stunning shot past Donnarumma from outside the box into the top corner. The three points, added to an opening draw away to AC Milan, meant Newcastle went top of Group F. It was all new and wonderful for players and manager alike, who now have a Champions League victory under their collective belts in a manner that pretty much defied logic. No Sven, no Joelinton, no Callum Wilson, no problem. 'We are really pleased. It was a brilliant effort from the players,' Eddie told CBS. 'It was a different game. It was a cat and mouse between the two, we were trying to press them and they were trying to play through us. We were successful a couple of times which led to big goals for us, so I am delighted with the players commitment.'
Newcastle was rocking with Champions League anticipation hours before kick-off as supporters flooded around St James Park for the first game here in this competition for two decades with their team on the back of a five-match unbeaten run during which they had kept five consecutive clean sheets. When the group draw was made, the meeting with Mbappe and PSG was ringed on the calendar as proof that Newcastle had returned to the big time. And how Th' Toon Army relished this as their team delivered the performance and occasion they had craved. Tough tests still lie ahead, of course, but on the evidence of the wall of noise and colour - monochrome colour, admittedly - that unnerved PSG here, Newcastle will have no fears about any opposition who come to Tyneside. 'We made it as clear as we could. We wanted to be ourselves when we played AC Milan and we were not where we needed to be,' Howe added. 'But I think that was expected with the three defeats previously to that game. I think we came here with a lot more confident mood. We wanted to be ourselves and then take the result whatever it is.' Newcastle tore into PSG from the first whistle, backed by a frenzied support and once Almirón set them on their way there was no looking back. And, how fitting it was that two local boys, Burn and Longstaff, were also on target on a night that will live long in the memory for every supporter who witnessed it. Schär's scorching finish was a perfect way to round off this glory night. Borussia Dortmund, who drew nil-nil with AC Milan on Wednesday, are the next visitors to Tyneside on 25 October and after this Newcastle and their supporters can hardly wait. Mbappe was the man that some Newcastle's fans feared - indeed, to read some parts of the media since the draw was made, one could have been forgiven for thinking Newcastle were only going to be playing against him; his early touches greeted with a cacophony of jeering, which he met by almost creating an early goal for Ousmane Dembele, who volleyed a great chance wide. That was just about it for the allegedly world-class forward, who cut a frustrated and marginalised figure for the rest of the night, often outnumbered by Newcastle defenders and not on the same wavelength of his PSG team-mates on a desperately poor night for Luis Enrique's side.
The Toon Army had waited two decades for a Champions League night like this and when it came it was worth every day and all of the many disappointments in-between after an electrifying night on Tyneside. As the Geordies filed down the hill from Gallowgate past statues of Sir Bobby Robson and Alan Shearer - manager and player when Barcelona won in the last Champions League game at St James' Park - it almost looked like the pair were walking on air. When Eddie Howe arrived at Newcastle almost two years ago, the first major appointment of the club's new Saudi Arabian owners, they were nineteenth in the Premier League and five points adrift from safety. It is the result of Howe's shrewd management and high finance that has led to a return to the Champions League and a night that saw Paris St-Germain thrashed in yet another statement about the transformation this club had undergone. Yes, PSG were piss-poor but to simply put Newcastle's comprehensive triumph down to their deficiencies is to do the Magpies the greatest disservice as this was their night, their control, almost from start to finish. This game provided a storyline and scoreline that Newcastle fans will talk about for years, a night to treasure for supporters who have to cast minds back to 1969 and the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup for their last major trophy. As Howe walked along the perimeter of the pitch towards the tunnel before kick-off, one elderly fan festooned in club colours from head to foot leaned out towards the pensive looking manager and shouted: 'You've got this Eddie.' It transpired that he had. Anthony Gordon whirled his arms in a demand for greater noise - not that it was needed - in the opening seconds while Bruno Guimarães and Dan Burn reacted to winning relatively routine challenges by turning to the crowd with fists clenched and roars. And how this packed house lapped it all up. And how sweet it was that two Geordie boys, the towering Burn and the increasinyl impressive Longstaff, provided the next two goals that put Newcastle out of sight and into the healthy position of four points from their first two Champions League group games. The final whistle was greeted by a noise that could have been heard across the Tyne Bridge.
Newcastle are only at the start of this Champions League campaign but after a battling backfoot performance in the San Siro, this was a performance and atmosphere that Borussia Dortmund may approach with trepidation as the next visitors to St James Park. The traditional old Newcastle pubs on the doorstep of the stadium such as The Strawberry were in the process of being drunk dry after the game and Th' Toon Army will hope they have more opportunities to do the same in future Champions League games. Newcastle still have much to do in this group and their fans will know it - or at least they will once they come down from the highs and likely hangovers after this night of pure elation.
