Spanish media deliver extremely harsh verdict on Newcastle United's performance against Barcelona - Eddie Howe should use it
Eddie Howe using Manchester United's own words against them in a team talk that was shown as part of the Amazon documentary, has now become iconic, and it's time for the Newcastle United gaffer to deploy that tactic again.
Newcastle had been accused of trying to slow the game down heading into the game against Manchester United, and the documentary showed Eddie Howe's team talk before kick-off, saying, "If they want a quick game coming here, let's f***ing give it to them!"
It worked a treat as Newcastle went on to win 2-0 on the day, and reading some of the things the Spanish media have said about Newcastle after last night's 1-1 draw with Barcelona, it's time to dust off that tactic and use it again ahead of the second leg.
Newcastle were desperately unlucky not to have won last night, conceding a penalty in the last second of the game, which erased the one-goal lead the lads had worked so hard to get.
The Spanish media's arrogance is unbelievable
It was a huge blow for Newcastle but an undoubted massive relief for Barcelona, who had been second best all night. However, rather than being complimentary of how Newcastle played, the Spanish press took a different route.
AS Diario claimed that Barcelona would have lost if Newcastle were a more formidable opponent:
“Had the match been against a higher-calibre opponent than Newcastle, who aren't exactly a formidable team, Flick's side would have suffered a serious defeat. But Newcastle are only so good, and even so, they deserved more than Barca.“
Meanwhile, Mundo Deportivo were even more rude, saying that the result exposed Newcastle's massive football limitations.
“The faces of desolation on the Newcastle fans' faces at St. James' Park in the 96th minute showed that they are practically out of the competition. That said, they will come en masse to Barcelona, with or without tickets, to try and pull off a miracle.
“English football was dealt a heavy blow in the Champions League last night on a particularly cruel matchday. Liverpool were pitiful against Galatasaray and made things difficult for themselves (1-0), Tottenham were thrashed five-a-side at the Metropolitano (5-2), and Newcastle exposed their enormous footballing limitations."
Let's get out there and show them what we can do
There is an argument to be made that if Newcastle were more prolific in front of goal they'd have romped to victory, of course that's the case. But our lack of a good final action does not diminish everything we did leading up to those moments.
Newcastle were by far the better side last night, and Eddie Howe should use this horseradish in his team talk next week at the Nou Camp to light a fire under his players to go out there and prove these elitists wrong.
We know we've got enough to beat Barcelona. We saw it last night. With a referee who does his job, we have every opportunity to grab this win. It will be harder than it should be with Lamine Yamal and Fernan Lopez both still able to play after escaping blatant bookings last night that would have seen them suspended, but it is what it is.
