Just listen to the crowd after every Newcastle tackle made vs PSG, the players were so pumped | OneFootball

Highlights

For the first time in 20 years, Newcastle United hosted a Champions League game at St James' Park this week and it's fair to say it went quite well. Making the trip to the north of England, it appears Paris Saint-Germain weren't quite ready for what was in store for them on Wednesday evening.

After all, manager Luis Enrique rocked up with the rather foolhardy plan to start four attackers – Kylian Mbappé, Randal Kolo Muani, Gonçalo Ramos, and Ousmane Dembélé – leaving his midfield woefully exposed. Eddie Howe's men took full advantage of this and came away with all three points thanks to a wonderfully energetic performance from the home team.

Miguel Almirón got his team off to a great start as he found the back of the net after just 17 minutes to open the scoring before Dan Burn made it 2-0 after his thumping header passed a lengthy VAR check. After the break, Newcastle's dominance continued with Sean Longstaff drilling home a third in the 50th minute before Fabian Schär netted the goal of the night as his long-distance strike curled into the top corner in the closing stages of the match, which cancelled out Lucas Hernández's earlier effort.

Eddie Howe praises St James' Park atmosphere

Speaking to The Guardian after the superb display, manager Howe was understandably full of praise for his team, but he also made sure to point out one extra aspect which he felt helped his side pick up the win. Indeed, he thanked the fans for their efforts as they made St James' Park such a cauldron of noise, saying:

It's clear that they home crowd were like a 12th man for the Magpies on the occasion as they motivated the players to just give that little bit more on the field of play. Footage shared on social media this week perfectly represents the team and the fans acting as one to make the stadium as intimidating as possible for the PSG squad.

In the 20-second clip, Newcastle players such as Dan Burn, Bruno Guimarães, Kieran Trippier, and Anthony Gordon all make tackles where the ball goes out of play. After each challenge, the fans near the pitch go wild, as if a goal has just been scored. Feeding off that energy, the players can then be seen pumping their arms and gesturing to the crowd to spark an even louder reaction.

Who do Newcastle play next in the Champions League?

It certainly was a brilliant occasion that lived up to expectations for all of those supporting the Premier League side. Of course, as it was the first home match in the Champions League since 2003 for the Magpies, it was always going to be special. It will be interesting to see what the stadium is like over the course of the competition, with the club's next game at St James' Park against Borussia Dortmund on 25th October.