AN EMOTIONAL EVENING AT THE SAN SIRO FOR NUFC. Brave & battling, but that midfield isn’t working!

Keith Downie was at the SAN SIRO tonight as Newcastle returned to Champions League after a 20 year hiatus. Here the Sky Sports Newcastle United reporter reflects on an emotional day for thousands of Geordies that made the trip to Milan, and dissects the performance - with one area of the team struggling early in the season. But a point on the board is a good start in the group of death!

[@andyh323]

Trippier was Newcastle's best outfield player by a country mile.

[@georgemorley1029]

Absolutely.

[@devongreen7724]

Him Pope and longstaff otherwise we were lucky we have to sort this static midfield Great point but the performance overall wasn't good

[@leekelly5655]

credit to the mighty toon army so proud of our players well done great commentary kieth keep the good work up

[@kingStuLad]

that total berk walking behind you at 6:59 😭😭😭

[@jackyjackanovski]

Fittest Newcastle player and should be proud well done, Longstaff Son 🫵💪👏

[@raf7305]

We need Willock and Joelinton back ASAP. We lack some pace and energy in the team

[@markg1269]

Bro I can’t take you seriously what pace does joelinton have 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂 fuck me wowza

[@JackBurton3963]

And power

[@100PCTMAGS]

Great video keith mate That Was An Amazing Moment we can All remember For the rest of our days & Eddie & the lads gave a good account of themselves tonight out there I’m really happy with that point HTL ⚫️⚪️👍🏻

[@markg1269]

Lol that was a horrible performance fuck knows what game you watched

[@iankirkpatrick1749]

Thanks Keith. 👍🏻 yes agree it's a point. ..at home we will bear them .there not that clinical. 😮

[@MyraMarks]

It wasn't Mike Maignan who tipped over Longstaff's shot at the end (as stated at 0:59). It was the substitute goalie Marco Sportiello.

[@8NEXTONE8]

Trippier hats off best player on the pitch

[@andyj416]

Nick saved us today

[@charlietalksfootball]

Great points Keith. A good point for us. Trippier’s experience is invaluable. Centre mid three not working. When we don’t have the ball the midfield three are too flat and allow players to run in behind them. It’s a concern that needs addressing

[@Ben-Jamino]

So much money for players. very expensive defensiv wall😅 park the bus

[@hodor6159]

As somebody who sadly couldn't watch the match, this was a great synopsis, thanks!

[@beard6160]

Proud to see my club get something last night. Looked a bit short on the day , but with Joelinton Willock and maybe Hall to come in maybe we'll have a bit more.

[@Bru88425]

Why isn’t Tonali playing CDM?

[@hodor6159]

I'd love this kind of video after more matches.

[@stephennutkin2477]

This is our first foray in the CL for 20 years. Over the years we’ve seen exactly the same type of performances against the same quality of teams from settled squads such as the likes of Liverpool, Man U . Milan had several shots 25/30 yards out and several chance gifted inside the box through some sloppy defending So one point away from home in the league of death will do for me.

[@helpotty5486]

Longstaff really disappointed me for diving twice and getting nothing out of them the pen shout was absolutely disgraceful honestly he wpuld be getting a bollocking of me it over shadowed his decent performance for me and am black and white through and through

[@matthewbryant958]

Thought Tonali actually played okay, eddies choices and favouritism is the only odd thing, Dan burn should not be a left back and why buy Tino or Lewis hall it seems pointless if there not gonna play total waste of money

[@barrylongstaff2816]

Thought we were poor again. Bruno is a shadow of his former self

[@peternufc1981]

Nerves shown but expected it . We held out for a draw which will do us fine we tried hard but they were just that bit more used to the atmosphere being ac Milan and used to it . It must of been daunting for the toon but they will get used to it they need to start realising they are there on merit there a good team and deserve to be there . Up the mags roll on psg . I Think we win at weekend champions league is good for the confidence I suspect 💪

[@thumpertoon76]

Let's just remember last season we had a championship squad, this season we have built a Premiership squad to play champions league, the next step with new sponsorships is to build a Champions league squad... I'm just enjoying the ride...

[@Adamm357]

I think Howe needs to consider switching to a 4-2-3-1 with Hall at left back drifting into midfield. The final ball from midfield is so poor, maybe a 10 will give more support to Isak/Wilson

[@wayne5240]

Definitely it’s not working the football is shit midfield just isn’t clicking it’s painful to watch we are better than that man

[@v4vendetta237]

A point is great but lets be honest Milan should of been out of sight. Games are going go come thick and fast and if eddie can't get the midfield to feed and support the forwards then i think results will eventually turn very bad and his future could become unstable. We have serious problems.

[@ericengleby265]

Have to disagree on the Bruno 1. Been poor all season including Pre Season. But thought he played well tonight. Though i thought Isak and Tonali had absolute Shockers. Worst Isak performance in a Newcastle shirt since he has signed. For me at this level we need another Striker. All in all though great battling point

[@markg1269]

Yeah I don’t know wtf some of our fans watch sometimes Bruno been found out he’s too slow just simply not good enough and gives ball away way too easy he’s sloppy as fuck tonali wasn’t amazing but he was better than Bruno that’s for sure trippier and longstaff best Newcastle players by a mile pope and burn just absolute donkeys dubravka must sit on the bench watching pope thinking how the fuck does he start over me he is awful can’t catch a ball or play a 30 yard pass without kicking it out of play 😂😂 isak isn’t a striker that’s clearly obvious to see but still plays him up top then to top it off starts murphy 😂😂 Howe has to go for me shockin starting line up wrong subs and at the wrong time he’s just way out of his depth tactically worse performance I’ve ever seen from an English club in champs league 0 shots on target in 90 mins 😂😂😂

[@simonfletcher7114]

Tonali was a passenger,,, the rest of our lads gave it all

[@shauntaylor6040]

Tonali looks absolutely lost.

[@mrugod]

Back four are so slow, we struggle a lot against pace, trippier and burn got bodied, lucky AC didn’t have their shooting boots on.

[@8NEXTONE8]

Cooler head from Longstaff we would have won. But what a great effort no complaints. We lacked movement in midfield, Bruno seemed deep and longstaff tried to make runs but that's not his game. I reckon Anderson over Sandro might be the move atm

[@markg1269]

Bruno is shit he’s been found out longstaff is the more natural defender in that midfield 3 so he should have been sitting and Bruno should have been pushing on teams a joke at minute ther all over the place on another day we lose 3-0 minimum and we would have lost to Brentford if Toney played in that game

[@brettharter143]

Milan llayed very dirty too. There were a few shirt pulls in the box which i would result in VAR in the prem

[@philtate1029]

A tough game and a disjointed performance from us but an excellent point.

[@ian4419]

Controversial but i think tonali is home sick dont think he wants to be at Newcastle hope i am wrong he doesn't look right

[@Jettplayzgames]

Not controversial, just daft

[@grahamsidney9214]

It's too early to right him off. But atm our summer business is not looking good

[@ian4419]

@@Jettplayzgames opinions let's wait and see if Iam wrong I'll hold my hands no big deal

[@peterarmstrong3298]

Spot on with your assessment Keith. We are still fragmented compared to our high standards last season however it was a very good result.

[@wafiwahab4472]

how do you solve a problem like Tonali

[@simonfletcher7114]

Drop him,,, if willock or joelinton not fit play anderson or miley. Tonali was not there last night. It was virtually 10 v 11. He was awful. No effort at all. Just jogging about. Even though he made two runs they out wide. Then jogged back leaving bruno and longstaff to defend. He was were the winger should have been. He was way out of position to make 3 centre mids

[@House0fHoot]

A point away from home & a clean sheet - WELL DONE THE LADS! 🖤🤍

[@Aaron_French]

Nick Pope was excellent. So proud of the lads. Lots of things that you can pick on as far as negatives and I hope that Eddie and co will but for me it's hard to feel anything but super proud of the players, club and tremendous support, all of whom do our city proud.

[@andrewgarrett5799]

we have needed a 6 for years but bought an 8, midfield is shocking, really poor. isak done literally not one good thing at all. poor performance from us. i think our recruitment was poor and it is showing. eddie seems to be more interested what we do without the ball and is forgetting what we have to do with it

[@markg1269]

Yep totally agree finally one of our fans with half a Brain I’m not gonna lie it’s seriously worrying times this and you got people on other channels saying how amazing the game was 😂😂😂 we should have been 3-0 down in 60 minutes psg will absolutely destroy us I’m dreading that game it could be a cricket score that one Eddie Howe has to go for me way over his head jobs for too big for him he can’t handle the pressure who the fuck start Jacob murphy in a champions league game 😂😂 he’s a championship player at best Dan burn is fuckin awful pope can’t catch a ball or kick a ball 30 yards without going out of play we got an absolute beast in livramento on the bench doesn’t get any minutes and a quality young left back who’s a good ball carrier but let’s keep the big donkey burn on for 90 mins 😂😂 we should have lost to Brentford if Toney played at weekend we lose simple as that this performance was as bad if not worse than the Brighton game we was just lucky Milan have a 75 year old striker that’s past his best and Rafa leao that thinks he’s maradonna I’m done already this season I’ve had enough until Howe stops playing Dan burn or he gets sack I’m not watching another game cba with it

[@grahamsidney9214]

Totally agree 100%

[@georgemorley1029]

I am similarly happy with the result but as with Brentford, the way we’re reaching decent or good results is the cause for concern. We’re still lacking the quality we had last season and Tonali and Bruno are not operating well together, nor is Bruno operating very much better without Tonali. Isak was labouring without any result but I don’t know if he’s being misused or if he’s lost his edge. We’re very much in a “jury out” position at the moment. I’ve said as much on other channels and caught hell for suggesting that we’re not as good as we were last season. Our squad looks better on paper but the performances aren’t following. That’s objectively the case.

[@Lee-j8d6h]

A good team plays badly and still gets at least a draw

[@GhostNappa2k10]

Think that midfield really is hurting us and costing us. And as much as it sucks to admit, I think it's Tonali. Him coming in has completely messed up our midfield structure.

[@8NEXTONE8]

Big Jo out too. I noticed Sandro went out eft a few times and made some good runs like Joelinton/willock would.

[@markg1269]

You need to watch games more closely Bruno is shit he’s done fuck all all season I’d have tonali over Bruno any day of the week he was bought to create and he creates nothing and gives the ball away way too much

[@benhawthorn4260]

There keeper went off lol.. & of big Joe or willock was fit tonali wouldn’t of played. The Game got to him

[@jdevlin1910]

Don't get the negativity about Tonali, something about it seems fishy... he looked bright to me, pushing forward, overlapping, trying to make something happen. Linked well with Gordon, a relationship worth building. As well as getting back and being strong in the tackle. He was among the better performers and was subbed cos he was visibly knackered.

[@DavidEvans-qb7vx]

What the hell are you on

[@Papaonwings]

Isak and Burn were terrible

[@Jettplayzgames]

Burn was much better in the second half tbf