Is this undermining claims of Newcastle United to be worthy of a place at Europe’s top table? | OneFootball

Sixteen points; that was the minimum needed in the first season of the revamped Champions League to qualify directly for the Round of 16 without having to win a home-and-away knockout tie in the play-offs.

With nine points from a possible 12 so far, Newcastle United look to have every chance of finishing in the top eight.

Two victories at St James’ Park and one in Brussels, all achieved without conceding a goal, should fill every fan with confidence.

The Champions League form and results are, sadly, in stark contrast to the Premier League campaign. Three wins and five defeats in 11 matches undermine any claims to be worthy of a place at Europe’s top table.

Or do they? What are we witnessing here? Nothing, I suspect, other than the pre-eminence of the Premier League over its continental counterparts.

In simple terms, winning matches in the uber-competitive domestic campaign in England can be more difficult than defeating foreign opposition in what is said to be the world’s greatest club competition. The high-speed, high-press tactics we struggle to overcome in the Premier League are uncommon currency on the European mainland.

Paris St Germain, last season’s winners, might claim the Champions League is all about artistry, more Monet and Manet than money, money, money, but that’s not the impression one gains from the make-up of the automatic qualifiers from the first 36-team phase in 2024-25.

Liverpool topped the initial league table, with Arsenal third and Aston Villa eighth. Spain had two representatives, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid, while Inter, Leverkusen and Lille completed the leading octet.

Just in case you forgot, Manchester City scraped into the play-offs on goal difference, having garnered only 11 points from their eight games to finish 22nd. Yes, 11 points. The Mags might not need to win even one of our remaining four fixtures to progress; a couple of draws could prove enough to reach the play-offs. Once a team survive the first hurdle by finishing in the top 24, anything is possible. Just ask PSG, who were conspicuous by their absence from the automatic qualifiers, as were Real Madrid.

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Man City’s reward for stumbling through the group phase was a play-off against one of the eight teams who finished between ninth and 16th. Uefa deemed that ninth should play 24th, 10th should play 23rd, 11th should play 22nd, etc. Real Madrid, who finished 11th, beat Man City home and away to progress to the Round of 16. Adios, Pep, seemingly unable to cope when lacking key players such as Rodri.

Based on the teams’ respective Champions League form to that point, the outcome was unsurprising. Man City were also enduring a dire couple of months on the domestic front. Low on confidence, unable to cope when opponents went for the jugular rather than rolling over to have their tummy tickled or shutting up shop. Sound familiar? They eventually turned it round to finish the season third in the Premier League. Some players rediscovered their best form, others returned from injury, a busy January window helped. It ain’t over till it’s over.

While Man City’s demise in the Champions League play-offs was no great shock, there were two unexpected winners from the eight ties. Brugge (24th) knocked out Atalanta (9th) while Feyenoord (19th) knocked out AC Milan (13th). Mediocre results in the group phase are not necessarily a barrier to later glory. Likewise, sparkling form before Christmas can count for nothing in the Round of 16.

Just ask Liverpool, the early front-runners, who were eliminated by PSG on penalties. If that seems unlucky, you must have failed to recall how Alisson kept them afloat at the Parc de Princes in the first leg until Liverpool scored in the 87th minute with their only effort on target. Total attempts two, compared with PSG’s 28.

At Anfield, the hosts mustered two attempts on target before the shoot-out, while their opponents had eight.

Only two Premier League clubs reached the quarter-finals. Villa pushed PSG all the way before losing 5-4 on aggregate. The perennial French champions completed their hat-trick of successes against English clubs by defeating Arsenal home and away in the semis.

The current European champions are an exceptional team but, thus far, they are ahead of Newcastle in the group phase by only goal difference. By only one goal, to be precise.

We have unfinished business with them after what happened in the ultimate Group of Death two seasons ago. Before the match in Paris on Wednesday, January 28, there are plenty of arguably tougher assignments.

Nobody should dispute that we are in need of a reset domestically. Our next opportunity is on Saturday week at home to Man City. From what I have seen on the telly this month, they will soon reel in the great pretenders from north London, who were made to look ordinary by their ornery opponents last weekend.

Man City will be formidable, make no mistake. Almost exactly 72 hours after that game ends, United will warm up at Stade Velodrome. Like Man City, Marseille stand second in their domestic league, with 25 points from 12 games. Their Champions League form is somewhat different. Played four, won one, lost three. Beaten by Real Madrid, Sporting and Atalanta. They are currently in 25th place. Needing eight or nine more points to make the play-off stage, Marseille might be looking at the out-of-sorts Mags and thinking: “There’s three points for the taking.”

Based purely on reputation, they will doubtless consider their fourth game at home, against Liverpool, less appealing. Let’s hope Marseille underestimate us. Eddie Howe and his men need to head for the Med and extend the excellent run of results we have registered against our continental cousins.