Newcastle boss looks forward to Paris match but says revenge is not the goal

Eddie Howe is relishing a Champions League showdown with holders Paris St Germain as Newcastle attempt to make it through to the knockout stage.

The Magpies will head for the Parc des Princes, where they came within seconds of victory two seasons ago, next week knowing they are all but assured of a top-16 finish and a home draw in the play-offs, but equally aware that a win would almost certainly send them through automatically following Wednesday night’s 3-0 success against PSV Eindhoven.

Asked what it would mean for the club’s development to make the the last 16, head coach Howe said: “There’s a financial implication there and yes, we always talk about income, PSR and trying to generate more revenue, so the more successful we can be as a team, the more we’re going to help that. We’re aware there’s a direct correlation there.

“But I never think financially when trying to help the team progress in every way. It’s always about trying to win, trying to achieve, trying to hunt for trophies. That’s always in the forefront of my mind. The financial side is a nice by-product of that.”

Finance will be far from the thoughts of Howe and his players when they run out in Paris with Luis Enrique’s men heading them only on goals scored, although the Frenchmen will be confident of securing the three points they will need to progress automatically.

Asked if revenge would be on their mind after they were denied victory at the Parc des Princes in 2023 by a controversial late penalty, Howe said: “No, it’s not revenge for us.

“It was a painful end, but it was a backs-to-the-wall, heroic performance, really. I remember Nick [Pope] making a number of unbelievable saves that night to keep us in front.

“You never quite know how this next game is going to go against them. I think this is…it’s difficult to put a label on it, but one of the hardest games we can play, which will be great for our development, but we want to try to go there and win, of course.”

Newcastle were not at their fluent best against PSV, particularly before the break, but they did not need to be as the visitors – who had lost only once in 21 games in all competitions before kick-off at St James’ Park – contributed to their own downfall.

Errors by goalkeeper Matej Kovar and Yarek Gasiorowski before the break and fellow defender Jerdy Schouten after it allowed Yoane Wissa, Anthony Gordon and Harvey Barnes to take full advantage and ease the hosts to comfortable victory on a night when skipper Bruno Guimaraes limped off with an ankle injury.

PSV skipper Jerdy Schouten, whose mistake led to Barnes’ goal, said: “Above all, we didn’t do well for the goals. I don’t think we played well tonight, we didn’t do well enough tonight.

“It’s really easy. We didn’t pass the ball well and didn’t build up well, and their players did. It’s not the way we wanted to play.”