Newcastle and Paris Saint-Germain missed out on a place in the top eight of the Champions League after a 1-1 draw at the Parc des Princes.
On a night full of twists and turns, PSG took the lead from the start with Vicinha’s goal after Nick Pope saved Ousmane Dembele’s penalty for a controversial handball on Luis Miley.
But Newcastle held their own very much, scoring a deserved equalizer with Joe Willock’s first goal in almost a year, and moving into the top eight alongside PSG at this stage of the night.
The other goals put both teams back in the play-off spots and they couldn’t stay like this as they were chasing a winner to avoid the play-offs.
There was end-to-end football and Newcastle arguably had the best chance of winning the game, with substitute Harvey Barnes firing home from close range.
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Michael Dawson couldn’t believe Harvey Barnes missed a late chance in Newcastle’s crucial Champions League game against PSG
In the end, both teams needed to fight for just one point, leading to a two-legged playoff in February. That draw will take place on Friday, with PSG and Newcastle, both seeded, being combined with either Qarabag or Monaco.
Newcastle secure seeding place in play-offs with eye-catching draw
Joe Willock celebrates after scoring the equalizer against Newcastle in Paris
Newcastle were denied a win against Paris two seasons ago by a controversial second-half penalty for handball, and within 60 seconds they were handed another controversial penalty for handball on Miley.
Malik Thiau’s clearance appeared to miss Bradley Barcola’s arms before hitting Miley, prompting VAR official Christian Dingert to send referee Slavko Vincic to the pitchside monitor. The referee belatedly pointed to the spot, but Pope dove to his left and brilliantly denied Dembele’s spot-kick.
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Michael Dawson praises Nick Pope’s penalty save from Ousmane Dembele after PSG were awarded a soft penalty in Champions League match against Newcastle
However, PSG’s early attack continued and Howe’s side were on the back foot with just eight minutes left when Hviča Kvaratschelia got past Vicinha, who fired past Pope and into the bottom corner of the goal.
PSG threatened to disappear from view, but Newcastle hit back as Willock pounced on Dan Byrne’s flick and headed it firmly past goalkeeper Matvey Safonov.
After the break, Newcastle were level with PSG, with Jacob Ramsey parried by Safonov at the near post, but Willock ran in a free-kick immediately taken by Lewis Hall, and the second goal was ruled out for offside.
Chances arose on both sides, but it was Barnes who had the biggest moment of the game when Anthony Gordon’s cross was deflected off course, but his shot found the side netting as Newcastle had to settle for a prestigious draw and a place in the play-offs.
“Burns will have nightmares about his mistakes.”
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Michael Daswon has given his verdict on Newcastle’s exceptional performance against PSG, which narrowly missed out on a top-eight finish in the Champions League.
Michael Dawson’s Soccer Feature:
“After a tough opening 15 minutes, Newcastle produced an outstanding performance.
“They did their job well and came back into the game very well.
“Eddie Howe made a lot of changes in attack and they were very much in the game going into the final stages.
“Will they get a chance? They got a chance.
“Harvey Barnes was four or five yards away. He should have hit the target. It was a huge chance for Newcastle and Barnes got it all wrong. He’s going to have nightmares about that mistake.”
“But it was a great performance for Newcastle. They received a huge welcome from the traveling fans and I’m sure Howe would be very proud of his team.”
“They were so close to the top eight, but now it’s the playoffs.”
Happy with the way we played at Newcastle
Newcastle manager Eddie Howe:
“There were a lot of things we had to deal with in that game. We had to deal not only with an opponent who was a good team, but also with decisions that went against us. Nowhere was that more so than with handball. It was déjà vu for us two years later. It was unbelievable.”
“I know Nick saved the penalty, but it created a positive atmosphere early on in the game when we were under pressure and I think the players recognized that and did their best.
“We adapted and grew into the game. It took us 25, 30 minutes to really find our feet, but once we did that, I thought we were in really good shape for the rest of the game.”
“On the other side, we needed to give them a threat, so I thought we showed really good leg strength and athleticism, and I thought we got stronger as the game went on in that regard. Harvey’s chance at the end was probably our best chance to win the game.”
“It was really gratifying to see us come all the way in terms of fitness after a very hard schedule.”
The story of the game in terms of statistics…
When is the Champions League knockout stage in 2025/26?
Playoff Draw: January 30, 2026 Knockout Playoffs: February 17-18, 24-25, 2026 Round of 16: March 10-11, 17-18, 2026 Quarterfinals: April 7-8, 14-15, 2026 Semi-Finals: April 28-29, May 5-6 2026 Final: Saturday, May 30, 2026
Newcastle’s upcoming fixtures…
31st January: Liverpool (a), Premier League 4th February: Man City (a) – Carabao Cup semi-final second leg 7th February: Brentford (h), Premier League 11th February: Tottenham (a), Premier League 14th February: Aston Villa (a) – FA Cup fourth round 17th or 18th February – Qarabag or Monaco, Champions League play-offs first leg 21 February – Man City (a), Premier League 24 or 25 February – Qarabag or Monaco, Champions League play-offs second leg 28 February – Everton (h), Premier League
