Newcastle United welcomed Champions League football back to St. James’ Park in style as Paris St-Germain were overpowered in a highly-charged atmosphere on Tyneside.
The excitement and energy on and off the field proved to be just too much for the French champions, including superstar Kylian Mbappe, as Eddie Howe’s team earned a well-deserved victory in Newcastle’s first home match in Europe’s top league since a 2-0 loss to Barcelona in March 2003.
Before Miguel Almiron gave the Toon Army the lead in the 17th minute after PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma could only palm out Alexander Isak’s shot as Marquinhos was penalized for carelessly turning the ball over, the Toon Army had already transformed St. James’ Park into four walls of black and white.
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The Italian goalkeeper Donnarumma would have an eventful evening as he unsuccessfully attempted to deflect Dan Burn’s soaring header six minutes before halftime.
Newcastle had to wait till a video assistance referee checked for offside even though the ball had already crossed the line before they could start celebrating.
Donnarumma was a central figure again as Newcastle went three up five minutes after the break, the goalkeeper’s poor attempt at a block allowing Sean Longstaff’s powerful shot from an angle to creep in.
PSG’s threats were rare but they did pull one back after 56 minutes through Lucas Hernandez’s header – but this was Newcastle’s night from start to finish.
Swiss centre-back Fabian Schar added the icing on the cake in stoppage time as he curled a stunning shot past Donnarumma from the edge of the box into the top corner to make it 4-1.
The three points, added to an opening draw away to AC Milan, mean Newcastle go top of Group F.
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