In their first Champions League game in twenty years, Newcastle held AC Milan to a goalless draw on Tuesday.
After being down for the entirety of the game, Eddie Howe’s Newcastle will be relieved to have gotten a point from the Group F meeting at the San Siro.
After missing a number of opportunities, especially in the first half, and controlling the play on Sandro Tonali’s return to his former haunts after being traded to Newcastle in July, Milan ought to have prevailed.
Milan leads a difficult group heading into Paris Saint-Germain’s match against Premier League rivals Borussia Dortmund at the Parc des Princes later on Tuesday.
In their first game in the premier club tournament in Europe since 2003, Newcastle did not play well. The squad supported by Saudi Arabia was fortunate to escape with a draw based on the balance of play.
When Tonali’s father watched the San Siro game, the home team played a lot more football than his son, who had returned to the Newcastle starting lineup after an injury that kept him out of the international squad.
Before kickoff, the home crowd, who doesn’t mind his mega-money transfer to England, gave the Italy midfielder a hearty round of applause.
But, home supporters were left angry by their team’s poor finishing and Newcastle’s tenacious defense, which resulted in a goalless draw between them and their local rivals, Inter Milan, who crushed them 5-1 on Saturday.