Talking points from Newcastle’s embarrassing Champions League loss to Barcelona | OneFootball

Newcastle United’s Champions League journey came to an end after Barcelona demolished them 7-2 at the Nou Camp to win the tie 8-3 on aggregate. 

The Magpies made a positive start to the away fixture and went toe-to-toe with their Spanish opponents in the first-half. 

Barcelona struck twice, but they responded each time to level the scores.  

However, Newcastle’s levels dropped dramatically after the interval, as they suffered four goals to lose the tie by a heavy margin. 

Below we discuss some of the major talking points from the European game on Wednesday. 

Awful defending

Barcelona attackers were devastating, but Newcastle defenders also didn’t make things difficult for their opponents. 

Lewis Hall made a costly slip to allow Raphinha to score the opener, while Dan Burn was furious for their poor marking at a set-piece for Marc Bernal’s second. 

Malick Thiaw was at fault for Barca’s sixth, and Jacob Ramsey gifted Raphinha his second with a dangerous ball across his own box. 

It was a chastening experience for the English team at the Nou Camp, but hopefully they will learn a lot from it. 

Anthony Elanga the only bright spot

Elanga is the only player who can hold his head high coming out of this game. 

The £55 million summer signing caused defenders problems with his pace and scored two brilliant goals to keep his side in the tie. 

Elanga struck his first from close range after getting on the end of Hall’s drilled cross to the back post. 

He then finished off an excellent move again involving Hall just before the half-hour mark. 

The Sweden international recorded one key pass, and also made an interception and a clearance. 

Huge injury blow

Sandro Tonali couldn’t complete the full 90 minutes as he appeared to hurt his left thigh and came off injured. 

The Italian’s availability is now doubtful for Sunday’s massive game against Sunderland. 

Tonali has been one of the most important players for Eddie Howe’s side this season and his absence would be a big blow for them. 

The 25-year-old has featured in 47 matches across all competitions this campaign, scoring three goals and creating seven assists in the process. 

Stats from Transfermarkt and Sofascore