Newcastle United Are Beginning To Understand The Tough Demands Of Competing In The Champions League

It was a difficult Tuesday evening for Newcastle United as they fell to a 2-0 defeat to Borussia Dortmund in the UEFA Champions League at Signal Iduna Park. This follows the Bundesliga side's 1-0 victory over Newcastle a fortnight ago at St. James' Park.

After being in a great position after the first two group games, having drawn with AC Milan and thrashed Paris Saint Germain, Newcastle are now realising how tough it is to compete in the Champions League.

This is from the challenge manager Eddie Howe has with managing the squad effectively for multiple competitions and dealing with increased amounts of injuries. Key players for Newcastle including Alexander Isak, Sven Botman, Dan Burn, Jacob Murphy, Matt Targett and Harvey Barnes are currently unavailable to Howe because of injury problems.

Dortmund began Tuesday's matchup against Newcastle with real intent as they pushed forward with Nick Pope having to keep out early efforts from Niclas Fullkrug and Karim Adeyemi. Then in the 26th minute, Dortmund's pressure finally paid off as Marcel Sabitzer set up Fullkrug with a cutback cross and the striker slotted in the opener.

Dortmund continued to push forward before Newcastle had a great opportunity to draw level before halftime. A well-worked corner from Kieran Trippier was flicked on by Jamaal Lascelles into Joelinton's path, but the Brazilian's header was comfortably gathered by Gregor Kobel.

Howe would have been looking for a response from his Newcastle players for the second half and to help the cause he brought on Anthony Gordon and Miguel Almiron. In another blow to Newcastle, Callum Wilson was one of the players who had to make way as he felt a tightness in his hamstring, adding to Newcastle's injury woes.

Newcastle began the second half strongly with Valentino Livramento putting in a brilliant cross from the right-hand side and setting up Joelinton for a great chance but the header from him flashed wide of the far post.

79 minutes in, Newcastle were picked off as an under-hit free kick from Trippier was intercepted, then Adeyemi played an accurate ball over the top to Julian Brandt, who broke forward and used the run made by Sabitzer to get into a good goalscoring position himself and fired his strike past Pope into the bottom far corner.

After the game, Howe reflected on the game, stating: "We weren't at our best tonight, the intensity, quality of our normal game was missing. But in saying that we still had our moments. Joelinton's header is the key moment in the game from our perspective."

Howe also touched on the current state of Newcastle's squad and having to manage it with all the injuries. The Newcastle boss said: "I'm being forced to make certain decisions and pick certain teams. Looking at Anthony Gordon, he played for 90 minutes against Arsenal and gave absolutely everything physically, and I think the turnaround for him was just too quick to start the match."

After four games, Newcastle sit at the bottom of Group F with four points, whilst Dortmund rise to first spot and have seven points. The two other teams in the group, PSG and AC Milan, faced off on Tuesday as well with the Italian side winning 2-1 at the San Siro.

Despite the loss, PSG remain ahead of AC Milan on six points, whilst the Serie A side sit third with five points. Matchday five will see Newcastle travel to face PSG and AC Milan host Dortmund.

The group is still wide open due to the four teams having taken points off one another so Newcastle remain in with a chance of finishing in the top two spots and qualifying for the knockout stages. However, that will be difficult as the three other teams in Group F have much more experience and pedigree in the Champions League and will know how to handle pressurised situations better than Newcastle.

Newcastle's return to the Champions League after 20 years has shown them how the high moments in the competition may not always last and that difficult moments are always around the corner.

The first two games against AC Milan and PSG proved what Howe's players can show on the biggest stage, but other factors such as squad management and rotation are something which Newcastle still have not quite yet mastered.

It may reach a point for Howe where he has to prioritise the Champions League over domestic matters if he wants his side to advance from the group, as Newcastle's squad is stretched very thin with injuries at the moment and the team is still adjusting to playing two games a week frequently.

Despite Howe's squad becoming smaller recently, Newcastle have had some good results domestically, as they knocked out Manchester City and Manchester United in the Carabao Cup and beat Arsenal in the Premier League.

Howe will now have to install belief in his fit players that they can cope without the injured players for a bit longer and do so in the Champions League, even if that will be difficult because of where the team sits in the group and with the level of opposition Newcastle must still face.