As St. James’ Park hosted its debut Champions League fixture in two decades, Newcastle United lived out their European dream in the sensational Tyneside atmosphere, securing an emphatic victory over Paris Saint-Germain this evening.
Goals from Miguel Almiron, Dan Burn, Sean Longstaff and Fabian Schar ensured Lucas Hernandez’s second-half strike served as only a consolation for the lacklustre Parisians as the Magpies ran out 4-1 winners.
Eddie Howe’s side opened the scoring in the 17th minute as Almiron turned home a rebound after Gianluigi Donnarumma had repelled a ferocious effort from Alexander Isak.
Almiron’s goal was Newcastle’s first in the Champions League since club legend Alan Shearer bagged a brace against Inter Milan in March 2003.
Buoyed by the deafening roar of the home crowd, Newcastle kept their foot on the gas, and Schar came agonisingly close to finding their second.
However, the centre-back’s first-time effort from Kieran Trippier’s corner delivery sailed marginally wide.
PSG unsurprisingly had plenty of possession throughout the first half, but they failed to create anything worthwhile, and Newcastle doubled their advantage in the 39th minute.
Towering full-back Dan Burn rose above Milan Skriniar to head home a cross from Bruno Guimaraes, sending the home crowd into a frenzy after surviving VAR checks.
Newcastle went into the half-time break with a two-goal lead, but they wasted no time extending their advantage even further shortly after the restart.
Trippier slipped the ball through for Longstaff, who smashed a shot that proved too hot for Donnarumma to handle.
PSG finally offered a response in the 56th minute, with Warren Zaire-Emery dinking a perfectly weighted ball that Hernandez glanced past Nick Pope.
Schar then provided the perfect end to a memorable night in Tyneside as he won the ball high up the pitch, combined with Jacob Murphy before smashing home an effort past Donnarumma.
The victory ensured Newcastle extended their unbeaten run to six games across all competitions while establishing themselves at the top of Group F.
