Newcastle 0 - 1 Borussia Dortmund

Newcastle suffered their first defeat of their 2023 Champions League campaign, as Borussia Dortmund came away from St. James’s Park with a valuable three points.

Felix Nmecha’s 45th-minute strike on the stroke of half time proved to be the match-winner for the German side to put them second in the Group F table, and put a dent in the Magpies’ hopes of qualifying for the knockout stages.

Newcastle – who twice were denied an equaliser by the crossbar late on – will feel a little disappointed not to come away with at least a point from what was at times a frenetic and end-to-end game, helped in no small part by the slick pitch conditions on a rain-soaked evening on Tyneside.

The game got off to a blistering start with both keepers called into action early on: Nick Pope first saving excellently from Donyell Malen before Gregor Kobel too made a smart save to repel Anthony Gordon’s curling shot a few seconds later.

The pace of the game showed no signs of letting up in the early exchanges, and Pope again came to Newcastle’s rescue on the ten-minute mark, this time making a brilliant double save to deny first Malen and then Fullkrug after Sean Longstaff had, perhaps dubiously, been dispossessed in midfield by Emre Can. However, a few moments later, it was Newcastle who forced another good save from Kobel. Alexander Isak – who was replaced by Callum Wilson a few moments later after limping off – played through the lively Gordon whose left-footed shot from a narrow angle couldn’t find its way past the Swiss net-minder.

The Newcastle high-press encouraged their raucous home support, and on the 20th minute they had a penalty claim to appeal with Miguel Almiron going down under the challenge of Nico Schlotterbeck after skipping by a few challenges and meandering his way into the box. However, the Portugese referee Artur Dias waved away the protestations.

Dortmund were the slicker attacking outfit in the half, though, and intricate passing led to a half-chance for Malen that was partially blocked by Jamaal Lascelles before Pope routinely saved on 28 minutes.

They also proved to be devastating on the counter attack, and it was from one of these situations that led to the match’s pivotal moment at the close of the first half. Anthony Gordon showed great feet initially to run off a couple of challenges, but he was dispossessed by a wonderfully timed challenge by Schlotterbeck, who then powered forward on the overlap to take a return pass from Marco Reus before squaring to Nmecha who finished first time to Nick Pope’s left, to score a goal of real quality.

As the game neared the hour mark, Newcaslte had a gilt-edged opportunity to equalise. A crunching tackle from Fabian Schar led to Anthony Gordon finding Callum Wilson on the penalty spot, but, after taking a touch to settle himself, he couldn’t direct his shot past Kobel who got down to save smartly and keep his side’s lead intact.

Sandro Tonali was introduced for Newcastle on the 63-minute mark as they searched for inspiration, but they didn’t create anything of note until Wilson’s header was stopped only by the crossbar on the 87th minute, and Gordon’s deflected shot met the same fate with virtually the last kick of the game.

Newcaslte: Nick Pope; Kieran Trippier, Jamaal Lascelles, Fabian Schar, Dan Burn (Matt Targett 70’); Sean Longstaff (Sandro Tonali 65’), Bruno Guimaraes, Joelinton (Jacob Murphy 65’) (Joe Willock 70’); Miguel Almiron, Alexander Isak (Callum Wilson 15’), Anthony Gordon.

Borussia Dortmund: Gregor Kobel; Marius Wolf, Mats Hummels, Nico Schlotterbeck, Ramy Bensebaini; Marcel Sabitzer, Emre Can (Salih Ozcan 43’), Felix Nmecha (Giovanni Reyna 78’); Donyell Malen (Niklas Sule 78’), Niclas Fullkrug Sebastian Haller 78’), Marco Reus (Karim Adeyemi 63’).

Thomas Murphy

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