Newcastle United ran out comfortable 4-0 winners over Union SG on Wednesday evening to secure a first European away win in 13 years. Lotto Park turned out to be a winner for United as, for the first time this season, the lads scored a few goals, looked dangerous, and got our Champions League campaign up and running at the second attempt.
A goal from Nick Woltemade, a brace of penalties from Anthony Gordon, and a Harvey Barnes effort saw United home breezily against the Belgian Champions.
Here are 4 things I liked (and 1 I didn’t like) from the game:
Liked: Nick Woltemade continues to drink in Rummenigge’s tears
It was a great night for Nick Woltemade, who continues to drink in Karl-Heinz Rummenigge’s tears, to the delight of the entirety of Tyneside. The Bayern Chairman branded United ‘idiots’ earlier in the week for paying £69m for the German international (who has been called up to the latest national squad again), and if being idiotic lands us a player of the stature (literally) and the potential of Big Nick, then I’m a simpering moron.
Three goals in four starts. The first Newcastle player to score on both his Premier League and Champions League debut. Silky touches in the centre circle to hold up play and retain possession in the 45th minute. A filthy flick (we’ve all seen the slowed-down version) to turn Sandro’s shot away from the keeper and into the net— you could see he meant it too by his celebration with the team when he pointed to himself and said “it’s mine.”
It’s still early days, of course, and Woltemade only had one shot in the game, which is something he will need to improve upon; but with other strikers who moved this summer for big fees floundering, Newcastle’s new number 27 has made an incredibly encouraging start to life in black and white.
Liked: Flying, goalscoring wingers
It was a night for flying wingers with Gordon, Barnes and Anthony Elanga all impressing. Barnes and Gordon deserved to get their flowers for scoring the goals, with Gordon showing great mettle to put both penalties on the same side.
The England international looked sharper too, making much more incisive runs, although he still checks back a little too much for me. Barnes was part of a blistering counter-attack and had Will Osula to thank for some brilliant hold-up play which saw the former Leicester man score his first European goal.
It was a much improved performance from Anthony Elanga, and one he needed, as he has flattered to deceive in his early Newcastle appearances, but he was very dangerous on Wednesday night, earning his side a penalty and, in truth, he should’ve had an assist or two too. The Swede got the man of the match award, which was a little odd for me, considering Gordon bagged a brace, but hopefully this is a performance for him to build on.
Didn’t Like: (Through gritted teeth) Dan Burn at LB
Please stop this madness, Eddie. Dan Burn was fine on the evening, defended well and was part of a defence that kept a clean sheet, but there was a general consensus after the game that it took USG too long to target Burn. Once they appeared to figure it out, we saw early in the second half Burn get done for pace on a few occasions that led to chances.
Wednesday was a hugely positive night, but Lewis Hall has to come in at left-back for the Forest game, and Eddie will have to make a decision on who starts at centre-back because neither Thiaw nor Botman deserves to come out of the side either.
Maybe Burn will get rest by default due to the rate the fixtures are coming along, but Howe appears to rarely want to rotate Burn out of the side, so the team sheets dropping at 12:45 on Sunday will make for very interesting reading.
Liked: Winning away from home in Europe (and this season)
It has been a long 13 years since United won away from home in European competition (with much of that spent in the wilderness), but it’s now just another poor Newcastle record that Eddie Howe has consigned to the history books.
A lot of the post-match interviews touched on how the team needed to kickstart its season, having been ‘not very far away’ despite early poor results in the league and against Barcelona, but in a game of fine margins, it was important United came through one, finally, with a larger margin of victory.
Winning this game reaffirms United can be a threat on the road, can take teams on in their own backyard, and makes the remaining away fixtures against Leverkusen, Marseille, and PSG seem less daunting with a years-old record being talked about in every preview.
Liked: A catalyst of a performance?
Eddie Howe spoke post-match about feeling much happier with the positive result in the bag, and now the challenge is to use the performance as a springboard to go on a decent run of form. United already have ground to make up, and it will require a big push as the fixtures are relentless again following the upcoming international break, with seven games in 23 days.
However, following the upcoming break, the squad should be stronger with the return of Yoane Wissa and Jacob Ramsey, allowing Eddie to further rotate his options, something that will be sorely needed.
Wednesday evening was a pleasant one as Newcastle finally came to the party in 2025/26, and a decent run in Europe is a real possibility with back-to-back home games to come.
Keep the faith. HWTL
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