2026-03-19 11:40:36

Eddie Howe is determined to lead Newcastle back to the Champions League after they were thrashed by Barcelona.

The Magpies were beaten 7-2 (8-3 on aggregate) by the La Liga giants in Wednesday’s (18.03.26) last 16 second leg but the coach has declared that he wants to lead the club for another crack at Europe’s elite competition.

Howe said: “Of course, this is where we want to be.

“As much as today is a harsh scoreline on us and a painful experience, to see the players play as well as they did in the first half and execute 90 per cent of what we wanted was a great feeling, a great sight.

“I don’t think that all should be forgotten with the scoreline, as difficult as that is for everyone to see.”

Newcastle capitulated in the second period after a thrilling 45 minutes and Howe rued his team conceding a penalty that saw them go in 3-2 down at the break.

He said: “Our defending was not on a level that it was just a few days ago at Chelsea. It started with the first goal when two players slip and then we concede a set-play.

“Then probably the big moment is the penalty, so as well as we played in the first half, when I thought we were outstanding in many aspects – it was really a great representation of how we want to play – there were too many individual errors within the performance to carry that great performance through.

“Really, if we had defended anywhere near the level we can, I think we would have been leading at half-time.”

Howe has urged his team to bounce back from their continental humbling when they take on local rivals Sunderland in the Premier League this weekend.

Asked how he will recover from the bruising game, the Newcastle boss said: “I’ve got no problem picking myself up, it’s more the players. I’m able to move quite quickly through things, the game and the review process, to then think of the future very quickly.

“Now it’s all about Sunderland, it’s not about what’s happened. It’s about learning from it and evolving and changing if we need to.

“It’s about the next game and making sure we’re mentally ready, physically ready for what’s going to be a huge game for us and for the whole city, so I think that’s quite a good game for us to go straight into because there’s no time for any other thought than that.”

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