Eddie Howe believes that his Newcastle United team can be competitive in this season of the Champions League, but is of the opinion that you have to win some victories at an early stadium.
The Magpies underwent a 1-2 defeat against Barcelona after Marcus Rashford marked a double package at the start of the season, and faced the Union Saint-Gilloie in the second match.
The USG caused a feeling with a 3-1 victory against the PSV in the Netherlands in its first match in the Champions League, while none of the last six Belgian teams who played its first home game in the European Cup or in the Champions League lost this meeting (3 victories, 3 draws).
Howe is convinced that his team can continue against Europe’s elite teams this season, but asked his team to collect the points as quickly as possible.
“During the first match against Barcelona, we really thought we were playing well, but it was a disappointing result,” said Howe.
“I think we are competitive. We now appreciate the structure, we are used to it. Nothing will surprise us. I think it can only help us play better.
“Winning is all and fine.
“You must find a way to win with all types of services. And we did it last year.
“I think that in the Champions League, it is important that you do it very quickly, otherwise you can get into a difficult situation.”
Newcastle entered this match after a 1-2 defeat against Arsenal in the Premier League, even if they were in the lead until seven minutes before the end.
Nick Pope was criticized for his role in the winning goal of Arsenal, but Howe has reinforced his goalkeeper and expect a return after a “big” performance.
“This is the life of a goalkeeper. I think it could have been one of the best performance of a goalkeeper I have ever seen,” added Howe.
“But you have to take into account that his actions are aimed at this time to help us win.
“In my position, you do not act back in retrospect; you make decisions and I stand behind Nick. I thought he was great.”
It is an automatic translation and can contain minor inaccuracies.
