After Kylian Mbappe rifled his penalty into the top corner of the Newcastle United net there was only one thing anyone would be talking about postgame: the controversial handball which had led to its award.
Thankfully, the always reflective Eddie Howe chose not to lambast the official but make some well-observed points.
“The referee is under pressure with every decision here with the crowd,” he said. “People at home may not be aware of the pressure put on the referee in the crowd, but it’s excessive and in the last seconds of the game he gave them that. “
“To be honest, I’m accepting it. “
Howe is wise enough to see the big picture and is willing to emphasize how pleased he is with what he has seen.
“I feel sad but at the same time very, very happy with what the players have given today,” added the Newcastle United manager.
“As you can see, our team is very lean and what the players gave today, their commitment, their execution. We were lucky at times, but I think we deserved it and we were unlucky in the end because I did it. “I don’t think it’s a penalty.
“We are very proud of the team. It’s not an easy position because they haven’t lost for a long time here. We almost won the race. It’s unfortunate. We need to win, but this point will be important. We’ve got everything to play for.
It’s understandable that Howe couldn’t let go of the deflation. After leading the match until the 97th minute, he conceded the equalizer like a punch.
Not only that, victory would have put the Magpies on course to qualify for the knockout stages from a group which was undoubtedly one of the toughest in the competition.
Instead, the northeastern giants will have to hope that Borussia Dortmund do them a favor by avoiding defeat to stay in the competition.
One of the reasons Newcastle can advance is largely thanks to a remarkable 4-1 home loss to Paris Saint-Germain; a result that sent shockwaves across Europe.
After the statement win even PSG Luis Enrique conceded they’d been outdone, although he queried whether the margin of victory was fair.
“Congratulations to Newcastle, they played a lot of football,” he said after the win.
“They were effective in the last part of the field and we made some mistakes, which is hard to accept. If you make mistakes, you pay the price.
“Their press worked. We tried to put in front of their goal as many chances as possible but we weren’t so effective in the last part of the pitch.
“But the score is excessive. The result is very big for them. But I don’t think we deserve this result.
Although last night’s result probably wouldn’t have been as conclusive, both matches provided an attractive barometer of the Premier League’s relative strength compared to other divisions.
Given that Newcastle United were struggling in the Premier League table just two seasons ago, it’s remarkable how far the club has come.
Opposite match to Paris Saint-Germain; a club that played in the final 3 years ago would have been for the Magpies enthusiasts of the past.
After the Parisians’ near-miss against Bayern Munich in 2020, top commentators agreed that it is still a question of when the Qatar-backed club will end up winning the title.
But the stellar frontline of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe was unable to even match that previous performance and this summer there has been a shift in direction, with fewer global stars and more of a collective approach.
The problem for PSG is that as it tries to reboot the effort to claim its first Champions League trophy, the competition is getting stronger.
The English Premier League groups are progressing at such a pace that even a club like Newcastle, who had not played against the European elite for about two decades, managed to defeat the French team.
The Magpies may have faced serious pressure from PSG in the last match, but there is an important caveat that this is an injury-decimated team suffering from a gruelling fixture schedule.
There should be a gulf in class between the sides, PSG has been consistently been competing in the Champions League the whole time Newcastle was absent, but there isn’t.
What will be more worrying for the rest of the non-English European elite is that Paris Saint-Germain is not a team that is ashamed to spend money like a Premier League team. If you’re struggling to compete, that’s a bad sign.
The counterpoint, of course, is that Newcastle’s rest of the games against AC Milan and Borussia Dortmund have been a regime for the Magpies who have no guarantee of progressing.
But the strength Newcastle United showed is a warning.
There is a chance that five English teams will take part in next year’s competition. Based on this, the chances of a team like Paris Saint-Germain winning the title will be even slimmer.