Three talking points as Barcelona prepare to face Newcastle United in UEFA Champions League at Camp Nou | OneFootball

FC Barcelona travelled to St James’ Park last week to play Newcastle United in the Champions League round of 16. It was an intensely fought game that eventually ended 1-1, with a late Lamine Yamal penalty cancelling out Harvey Barnes’ goal earlier in the match.

It was not exactly a vintage performance from Hansi Flick’s team. Dealing with a number of injuries across the board, the German manager had to improvise, especially in the back line, and the consequences were there for everyone to see.

Now, with the return leg at Spotify Camp Nou, Barcelona will start the game as favourites to progress to the next round. However, they need to play at their best and avoid complacency against a talented Magpies side.

With all this in mind, here are three talking points as Barcelona look to beat Newcastle United and progress to the next round.

1: A better attitude and a better performance

Despite beating Sevilla 5-2 in La Liga over the weekend, Hansi Flick made no secret of the fact that he was far from happy with his team’s performance. He felt they were not intense or purposeful enough in their passing.

The German manager has certainly lit a fire under his squad, ahead of the Newcastle game if nothing else. The team is likely to be fired up and keen to prove a point to their manager against the Premier League side.

If Barcelona play at their best, as they did against Atletico Madrid earlier in the month, it promises to be a mouth-watering game. By the end of it, Barcelona should have enough firepower to get past their opponents on the night.

Lamine Yamal did not have a great game against Newcastle at St James’ Park, despite converting a well-taken penalty under pressure in stoppage time. That has brought plenty of attention on him, and he now has a point to prove at Spotify Camp Nou.

The Spaniard has had games this season in which he has looked unplayable, but against Newcastle United, Lewis Hall kept him quiet with some help from Dan Burn and Joelinton. For a player like Lamine, that will only add to his motivation to silence the detractors.

More often than not, whenever Lamine has a good game, Barcelona tend to end up on the right side of the result. We will have to wait and see whether the star boy can drive the team forward and help them reach the next round of Europe’s premier competition.

One of Barcelona’s biggest issues in the first leg was dealing with the physicality of Newcastle’s players, especially in midfield. Joelinton, in particular, was a handful and man-marked both Pedri and Marc Bernal out of the game.

The Spanish duo is likely to start again at the base of midfield, and they will be keen to deliver a much better performance. That will be key to how well Barcelona can impose themselves on the game against Eddie Howe’s team.

Ultimately, it is a game that comes down to Barcelona’s technical ability versus Newcastle’s physical dominance. If the brains can outsmart the brawn, the Catalan club will move comfortably into the next round, where one of Atletico Madrid or Tottenham Hotspur await.