The Build Up
It was a special occasion in Milan with Newcastle playing in their first champions league for 20 years. In the group draw Newcastle were drawn into Group F, accompanied by AC Milan, Borussia Dortmund and Paris Saint Germain, with this group being branded the ‘group of death’.
The Magpies faced their first challenge after their return to this stage of top level club competition away at the San Siro with hosts and last year’s semi finalists making for a very daunting task for Howe’s men.
The Starting Line-ups
Both teams started with a 4-3-3 formation.
AC Milan
NUFC
Milan are strong in the first half
Milan dominated the first half with 15 shots, including 7 on target, compared to Newcastle’s lowly 2 shots and not a single one on target. The biggest chance of the half came from a spectacular from Milan winger Rafa Leao. Weaving through the defence and forcing an opening through the defence, but being unable to administer what would’ve been a spectacular finish and goal. Nick Pope’s performance would end up being important for the Magpies with the goalkeeper managing multiple saves.
NUFC still under pressure in the second half
The second continued in much the same vane- Milan putting Newcastle under pressure but not being able to penetrate their defence. Milan’s attack was not quite able to make the same amount of clear cut chances with only another two shots on target as opposed to the seven in the first half. Newcastle’s best chance and only shot on target in the game came in the 95th minute with Sean Longstaff’s strike needing a spectacular save from Sportiello to keep it out.
The game ended 0-0 with Newcastle coming out with a strong defensive performance, The Toon will see it as a huge point gained from a tough away ground in a difficult group and will hope to build on this result as the games go on.
Milan will rue their missed chances and will see it as 2 points dropped rather than a point gained based on their performance. In a group with this quality and class dropped points in this style could be a huge loss and the difference between potential qualification and elimination.
Match Stats
