Newcastle’s European dream over as Samuel Chukwueze bails out Milan

Newcastle’s European odyssey is over. On a night of wildly oscillating emotions on Tyneside, Samuel Chukwueze stepped off the Milan substitutes’ bench and scored with his first touch to send his side into the Europa League and Eddie Howe’s team crashing out of continental combat. For much of the evening Stefano Pioli’s players were firmly on the back foot and bullied by Joelinton and co but the visiting manager’s inspired 83rd-minute treble substitution ended with all three newcomers, Luka Jovic, Noah Okafor and Chukwueze , chipping in as the latter swept the ball beyond Martin Dubravka a minute later. 

All the pre-match talk centred on Loris Karius, Newcastle’s third-choice goalkeeper, potentially making a first Champions League appearance since his calamitous display in the 2018 final for Liverpool. Instead Dubravka passed a late fitness test, leaving Karius to take his place on a slimline substitutes’ bench, featuring only seven players including the academy goalkeeper Adam Harrison. Milan have fitness problems of their own but Pioli named a full complement of 11 substitutes. 

Most significantly Rafael Leão, Pioli’s outstanding left winger, was fit to start following a month spent hamstrung on the sidelines. Yet if Eddie Howe still has far too many players in Newcastle’s treatment room, he was able to welcome Dan Burn back to a bench also including Alexander Isak. With Callum Wilson deemed sufficiently fit to start, Isak, latterly out of sorts and looking increasingly exhausted, was offered a badly needed breather. Out on the pitch things began in rather breathless mode. 

Howe had asked his players to come out with all guns blazing and they did not disappoint. Indeed, Newcastle started extremely well, persistently forcing Milan into defensive blind alleys and attacking cul-de-sacs. Yet as much as Milan’s defence was slightly ersatz Fikayo Tomori was their only fit specialist centre half Newcastle’s initial attacking sound and fury did not amount to quite as much as it promised. Although Mike Maignan looked suitably relieved when Kieran Trippier failed to apply quite enough dip to a dangerously positioned free-kick, Pioli’s goalkeeper was not worked as hard as Howe might have hoped.

The end of the story

Soon Howe was frowning after Pulisic equalised at the end of a move involving Tomori connecting with Leão’s deep cross only to miscue an attempted shot. No matter the ball fell to Giroud who slid it across goal for Pulisic to apply the finishing touch from six yards. How quickly things can change. From being within touching distance of the last 16, Newcastle were clinging on to a place in the Europa League’s knockout phase. With Trippier replaced by Burn, Tino Livramento was now duelling with Leão. The narrative almost switched back but Maignan performed wonders to somehow tip Bruno Guimarães’s curving goalbound shot from the edge of the area on to the bar.