Newcastle vs Barcelona: Yamal spares Blaugrana embarrassment in terrible performance at St James's Park

A Lamine Yamal penalty deep into second-half injury time spared Barcelona defeat at St James's Park after Harvey Barnes gave the Magpies a well-deserved lead.

Barcelona entered the tie with the psychological edge of having beaten Eddie Howe's side in the league phase. Still the Magpies proved more mentally prepared for the tie and they made Hansi Flick's side uncomfortable for the whole of the encounter.

They dominated Barcelona in the phases of the pitch that mattered, although their lack of attacking quality limited the danger they could pose. They eventually got the lead through Barnes in the 84th minute, but a late Lamine Yamal penalty ensured that the spoils were shared.

The match was at a frantic pace from kick-off, with Newcastle dictating the early intensity and aggressively pressing Barcelona high up the pitch. 

They also created better chances in the first-half, with William Osula flashing a header close to the target in the 25th minute and Sandro Tonali testing Barcelona goalkeeper Joan Garcia. Barcelona, on the other hand, struggled to supply a misfiring Robert Lewandowski. 

The second half was more of the same, with Newcastle refusing to take their foot off the pedal. In the 67th minute, Eddie Howe executed a triple substitution to refresh his side, withdrawing Trippier, Osula, and Anthony Elanga in favour of Tino Livramento, Anthony Gordon, and Jacob Murphy. 

Hansi Flick responded shortly after in the 70th minute by replacing Lewandowski and Pedri with Marcus Rashford and Dani Olmo. Howe’s changes had an immediate impact, with Joao Cancelo receiving a yellow card for a late challenge on the newly introduced Murphy.