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Newcastle United’s hopes of reaching the last 16 of the Champions League were dealt a heavy blow by Borussia Dortmund, who claimed a fully deserved 1-0 victory at a rain-soaked St James’ Park on Wednesday evening.
The Magpies had gone into the game flying high at the top of Group F but they have fallen to third in the standings after succumbing to a solitary strike from Felix Nmecha, with BVB’s No.8 doing an excellent Jude Bellingham impression by sweeping home a cut-back from Nico Schlotterbeck after a brilliant break that the latter had sparked with a terrific tackle on Anthony Gordon on halfway.
Newcastle fought gamely to try to turn the game around in the second half and struck the bar twice in the dying minutes, through the shoulder of Callum Wilson and a deflected effort from Gordon. However, the reality is that the hosts, who were second-best for the majority of the 90 minutes, deserved nothing out of a game that Dortmund would have won comprehensively had it not been for the first-half heroics of Nick Pope.
Below, GOAL rates all the Newcastle players on show on a disappointing night at St James’ Park as Eddie Howe’s strangely out-of-sorts team saw a nine-game unbeaten run come to an end…
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Goalkeeper & Defence
Nick Pope (8/10):
Called into action three times in the opening 10 minutes alone, with his double-save one of the game’s highlights. If it hadn’t been for Pope, Newcastle would have lost heavily.
Kieran Trippier (6/10):
As usual, a good outlet down the right flank, but this was a tough evening for the England international, as nearly all of Dortmund’s best attacks came down his side.
Jamaal Lascelles (5/10):
No major errors but never quite looked comfortable at the heart of the defence.
Fabian Schar (7/10):
The home side’s best defender, winning possession back several times, while he also passed the ball well – unlike many of those in front of him.
Dan Burn (5/10):
Offered next-to-nothing going forward, so was hauled off with just under 20 minutes of normal time remaining as Newcastle chased the game.
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Midfield
Sean Longstaff (4/10): Looked utterly lost as Dortmund dominated in midfield and unsurprisingly hooked midway through the second half.
Bruno Guimaraes (5/10):
Played a lovely lofted ball over the Dortmund defence for Almiron during the first half and kept working right until the end but, truth be told, he was nowhere near his best.
Joelinton (4/10): Put himself about, as always, but there was also the usual lack of quality. Rightly taken off at the same time as the equally ineffective Longstaff.
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Attack
Miguel Almiron (4/10):
Very lively early on, with his direct dribbling provoking panic in the Dortmund defence, but there was no end product.
Alexander Isak (N/A): Sadly saw his night come to a very premature end, with the Swede forced off with an injury inside the opening 15 minutes. A major blow for Newcastle, in hindsight.
Anthony Gordon (5/10):
Made himself a real nuisance at times and struck the bar in the dying minutes but squandered a great chance to break the deadlock with a finish that was straight at Gregor Kobel, while it was his loss of possession that led to Dortmund opening the scoring.
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Subs & Manager
Callum Wilson (4/10):
Came on for Isak early on but missed a gilt-edged opportunity to level the game from point-blank range just before the hour mark and then struck the bar with an effort off his shoulder that could have gone in had he connected with his head.
Sandro Tonali (5/10):
In what may well be his last appearance for Newcastle for some time, the Italian showed plenty of endeavour but was unable to turn the game around.
Jacob Murphy (N/A)
Introduced in the 64th minute as part of a double substitution with Tonali but was almost immediately replaced after hurting his shoulder.
Joe Willock (5/10):
Sent on in place of the unfortunate Murphy but failed to make his presence felt.
Joe Targett (6/10):
Only saw around 20 minutes of action after being subbed on for Burn.
Eddie Howe (3/10):
Completely outfoxed by Edin Terzic, the Magpies boss had absolutely no answer to Dortmund’s daring approach to the game and now has plenty to ponder ahead of their return fixture at Signal Iduna Park.
