Almost. This is probably what all Newcastle supporters must have said to themselves this Tuesday evening. Indeed, Eddie Howe’s players did not come far from a real feat by leaving the Parc des Princes with three points, during this 5th day of Group F of the Champions League. If the Magpies opened the scoring thanks to Alexander Isak (24th), Kylian MbappĂ© managed to equalize at the last second (90th+8) on a penalty generously offered by the evening referee, Mr. Szymon Marciniak. A fact of play which spoils the almost perfect performance of the English. “I think the referee didn’t make the right decision. You have to take certain things into account at this point, firstly the speed, which is not the same as slow motion. I think the hand goes in the direction of a natural movement of the body. It’s frustrating, but that’s how it is, there’s nothing we can do about it. I need to control myself”then castigated Eddie Howe, Newcastle coach, in a press conference after the match.
A more than understandable burst of anger from the Magpies coach. With a victory at the Parc des Princes, Newcastle had taken a big step towards qualification and were even assured of at least playing in the Europa League in the worst-case scenario. “I’m just disappointed for the players after what they did and disappointed with what this decision does to the group. Once the emotion has passed, we will look at the positives of this meeting. It’s a huge performance from the team. We are still in the competition, we will continue to fight. We have to look at that first, because it could have been different. We are in the group of death, few people gave us a chance in the draw. It’s also a time to be positive. When some players return from injury, we will have a competitive team in all competitions.nevertheless wanted to put the English coach into perspective during the rest of his press conference.
The English press unanimously!
His player, Alexander Isak, also commented on this disputed fact of play. “It’s never nice to concede a goal this late. My first reaction was to think that there was no penalty. It seemed strange. I haven’t seen a replay. I hope it was a penalty. We have to trust the referees. We are very proud of the team. It’s not easy to play here. They haven’t lost in a while at the Parc des Princes. We almost won. It is sad.” Beyond the penalty given to the Parisians, the additional time of 8 minutes was also called into question.
Particularly in England where the various presses did not hesitate to frown in their columns, from the final whistle. The newspaper Daily Mail quickly changed the front page of its site, headlined with the strong words: “The Toon Army stolen in Paris”. On the side of Daily Mirrorthe title is similar: “Newcastle are heartbroken by PSG after the penalty in stoppage time”. Same story for the Sun: “the world of football denounces “THEFT” after PSG’s controversial penalty against Newcastle”. As to Timesthe journalists opted for a simple and effective formula: “Mbappé’s controversial penalty annihilates Newcastle’s victory”. THE Guardian adds: “The pain of Newcastle in Paris. Mbappé and VAR injure Newcastle while penalty in stoppage time saves PSG.
Double block on the front page of the site Telegraph with several articles on Kylian MbappĂ©’s penalty: “Newcastle fumes over a controversial penalty which would never have been whistled in England” but also “Newcastle blocked by VAR as Champions League hopes fell in tatters in Paris”. There sky concluded his European evening with this description highlighted on his site: “Newcastle had to settle for a 1-1 draw against Paris Saint-Germain following a cruel penalty decision in stoppage time”. And to conclude this British rage, we leave you with these words from the legend Alan Shearer: “Do me a f… favor, man. What crap this VAR is. A superb fighting performance from each player that shouldn’t be ruined by one disgusting decision. Well done Newcastle”
