BATTLE OF THE BILLIONAIRES Mbappe and Qatar against the Saudis in a crunch clash that gritty Toon must win to stay in the Champions League
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KYLIAN MBAPPE was jeered out of St James’ Park after Paris Saint-germain were blown away 4-1 last month.
That heady thrill – the first Champions League game on Tyneside for 20 years – risks becoming the season’s highlight this week as the Toon return to Paris.
Reality has started to bite for Eddie Howe’s men in Europe, and their continued participation is on the line on two fronts.
The stakes are high, fighting for the prestige demanded by the Saudi owners, and United’s new-found European status.
Lose at the Parc des Princes and they are out of the Champions League.
If they are defeated, and Milan beat Dortmund, they would be out of Europe altogether, unable to finish third in Group F which wins the consolation of a Europa League place.
Howe and his players have been hugely “frustrated” that, bar the PSG game, the Champions League has not seen the best of Newcastle.
Howe said: “It’s a difficult one to answer, I’m not 100 percent sure myself. If the best version of ourselves turns up I think the Dortmund results would be different. We are probably going to have to win our last two games, but it’s difficult to tell.”
Domestically, an insipid defeat to Bournemouth saw Kieran Trippier remonstrating with a dissenting fan at the final whistle, and it felt like Newcastle had hit a wall, physically and mentally after their 18 months of progress.
Howe reckons the PSG trip kicks off a spell that will go a long way to determine whether they remain contenders this year, and participants next.
He said: “It’s a really demanding month anyway, even taking away the Champions League and the Carabao Cup game (away to Chelsea).
“We have given ourselves a really intense month, and it has coincided with absentees. But we go with it, we roll with it. The players we have available are fit and strong – but we don’t want any other injuries.” So Howe’s men must get something on their travels, during which they have been uncharacteristically jittery. They clung to a point with a goalless draw in Milan where keeper Nick Pope was excellent. And Howe said of Pope this weekend: “Nick is someone who commands respect here with how he works, how he trains, with the performances he has given since he’s been at the football club. “He has been magnificent. As a goalkeeper I think he is unquestioned.” Then they flopped home and away to Dortmund, and looked like they were slightly overawed by the occasion and opposition for periods. In three of their four Euro games Newcastle have failed to score, with only their four goals against PSG on Tyneside their reward. That does not bode well but striker Alexander Isak should be back. The PSG clash is always billed as the ‘oil derby’, Qatar versus Saudi Arabia. In reality it is too soon to call it a rivalry. Newcastle are building slowly and looking for value. PSG have shot to the top with superstar signings, which United cannot yet afford. Howe faces nine games in 31 days up to and including Boxing Day against Nottingham Forest with no free midweeks. The fully-fit squad will not do full physical training until the New Year, with the main aim being shape work and recovery. This is a test totally different from last season, when Howe had full weeks to prep tactically for games. However by January injury victims will be returning including Harvey Barnes, Callum Wilson, Jacob Murphy, Elliott Anderson and Sean Longstaff. The big question is whether the Toon can muster the energy to threaten PSG. And whether PSG’S glove-wearing superstars, so passive on Tyneside, can muster a desire for revenge.
The players are fit and strong – but we don’t want injuries