Mbappe will not be as kind to Newcastle as Milan were, but Magpies earned their San Siro point

Newcastle cannot depend upon the profligacy of too many teams in the Champions League but the experience and point earned at Milan will serve them well.

Dan Burn, Sean Longstaff and Jacob Murphy were making their European debuts. Anthony Gordon’s two Europa League minutes for Everton in December 2017 hardly prepared him much better for the San Siro, nor did Nick Pope’s quarter of an hour in a qualifying draw with Burnley the following July. Save for eight substitute minutes with Borussia Dortmund six years ago, Alexander Isak had never graced the Champions League stage before.

Yet there Newcastle were, just barely holding on for 94 minutes against AC Milan before almost channelling the 21-year-old spirit of Andy Griffin in the final throes of stoppage time.

Had Longstaff been more precise or powerful with his snatched shot from the edge of the area, or Kieran Trippier’s subsequent corner found the head of one of his giant defensive teammates – an apt description in every sense – then it would have been one of the most famous Magpie nights.

As it was, a point was hard-earned and sets them up neatly for the challenges that await. Paris Saint-Germain and Dortmund cannot be relied upon to be quite so generous at St James’ Park but this at least allowed Newcastle to find their feet

It really did seem destined to be far more painful, certainly for most of the first half. Newcastle were caught in the moment, a team of Murphys admiring the Champions League theme as the backdrop to an evening of celebrating how far they – as a team, as players, as coaches, as fans – had come.

Milan had 15 shots before Newcastle had one. And that was a tame effort from Gordon, blocked almost as soon as it was hit. The Italians displayed a special kind of profligacy as players practically lined up to take a pop at the impervious Pope.

None of the misses were particularly glaring in isolation but as a collective it was a mystery as to how Milan didn’t score. Murphy cleared one off the line from Tommaso Pobega and Rafael Leao summed up an infuriatingly entertaining evening on an individual level by dancing into the area and showing two defenders to their seats before being tackled by his own feet when trying an audacious backheel.

Leao was the guiltiest party in terms of wastefulness but in truth nothing was coming off for anyone in red and black once they entered the final third. Olivier Giroud has established at least half of his career on near-post runs and flicked first-time finishes but even one of those was missed.

The midfield improvement Newcastle engendered against Brentford was gone. Sandro Tonali was recalled but struggled to do much beyond accept a standing ovation upon his substitution. Bruno Guimaraes was outpaced by Giroud at one point after yet another mixed performance in a muddled role. Longstaff might have been Newcastle’s biggest attacking threat with his movement off the ball but one dive in particular when in the area and primed to shoot summed up a fairly timid, naive and risk-averse performance from Eddie Howe’s side going forward.

Their response after half-time was encouraging. Newcastle gave up more of the ball in the second half but it resulted in a greater level of control. Perhaps Milan were ruffled a little by their own inability to introduce a banjo to any part of a cow’s anatomy but Newcastle belatedly rose to the challenge. Trippier, not coincidentally their most experienced player in the Champions League by some margin, helped guide them through.

It is an excellent point, even if 25 shots is the most Newcastle have faced in any game in almost two years under Howe. Maybe especially because of that. At least when the Champions League plate needs spinning again in a fortnight the novelty and nerves might have worn off. With Kylian Mbappe due to visit, you would hope so.

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