Three talking points as Barcelona secure a 1-1 draw against Newcastle United in the Champions League | OneFootball

FC Barcelona took a trip to St James’ Park knowing full well that they were unlikely to have an easy game against Newcastle United in the first leg of the Champions League Round of 16. The Catalan club eventually came away from the game with a 1-1 draw.

A Harvey Barnes goal was cancelled out by a late Lamine Yamal penalty as the two teams shared the spoils ahead of the second leg at Spotify Camp Nou. In hindsight, taking everything into context, this is a score that Hansi Flick would take.

With a much-rotated XI going into one of their biggest games of the season, it was always going to be difficult for Barcelona to come away with a win on the night, and the atmosphere did not make things any easier.

All things considered, here are three talking points for Barcelona as they secured a 1-1 draw against Newcastle United in the Champions League.

Barcelona already had a lot of injuries to contend with coming into this game, and it only got worse before kick-off last night, when it emerged that Eric Garcia was suffering from discomfort and could not start.

Eric has been one of the team’s best defenders this season, and this was a body blow. In his absence, Flick chose not to alter too much in the backline and started Ronald Araujo at right-back. The Uruguayan did not look that comfortable in the new position.

The Spaniard’s absence, coupled with injuries to Frenkie de Jong, Jules Kounde, and Alejandro Balde, meant that Newcastle had a massive advantage at home against the line-up Barcelona put out. Despite all this, the Catalan club managed to secure a draw.

With the second leg at Spotify Camp Nou, Flick’s Barcelona will now be quietly confident of pulling off a result at home against the Magpies. The only hope is that Eric is back for the return leg.

2: Wasteful decision-making

It is very rare for Barcelona under Hansi Flick to look as clueless in the final third as they did last night at St James’ Park. They did not make the right decisions, were extremely sloppy, and failed to get going at any point throughout the 90 minutes.

Even a player like Lamine, who makes the perfect decision more often than not, had a very poor game that was salvaged by the penalty. The same goes for Raphinha and Fermin Lopez, whose performances left a lot to be desired.

In fact, the only player who showed conviction after coming on was Dani Olmo, who won the penalty for Barcelona with an excellent body feint. He yet again showcased just why he can be a game-changer even on the worst nights for the team.

If Barcelona want to win the second leg comfortably, they need to step up their attacking game. They need to be more purposeful in the final third, and it remains to be seen how things play out on this front.

3: Xavi Espart’s eye-catching cameo

Xavi Espart was on the pitch for all of four added minutes last night against Newcastle United, coming on to replace Ronald Araujo in the dying moments. He was making his professional debut for the Barcelona first team.

One of his first actions on the night was getting caught in a one-on-one race, and he expertly pulled off a sliding tackle to win the ball back cleanly in Newcastle’s box. It was one moment that showed the confidence running through his veins.

Barcelona played Ronald Araujo out of position at right-back for much of the game, but it does feel like they will be better off trusting a natural like Xavi Espart in that position in the coming games if Eric and Kounde are unavailable.

There is a good chance that Espart gets a chance to start against Sevilla at the weekend, and it remains to be seen whether he manages to take the opportunity with both hands.