Newcastle United break 28 year European record in Champions League defeat to Borussia Dortmund

Newcastle United broke a 28-year record during their 1-0 Champions League defeat to Borussia Dortmund at St James’ Park. The loss was Newcastle’s first in nine matches with ex-Manchester City academy graduate Felix Nmecha grabbing the decisive goal for the visitors in the first half.

The Magpies struggled to find the required intensity in the 45 minutes of the match and were made to rue a number of missed chances in the second half as they took a much greater hold on proceedings. It marked Newcastle’s first home defeat in a European competition in over 20 years when Bobby Robson’s side were beaten 2-0 by Barcelona back in March 2003.

But that was not the only long term record that was broken on Tyneside, as Newcastle equalled a record which was set by Blackburn Rovers back in 1995, in a match which also featured future icon Alan Shearer before his world record transfer to St James’ Park.

Overall, Newcastle United used 10 English players during their clash with Borussia Dortmund. The likes of Nick Pope, Kieran Trippier, Jamaal Lascelles, Dan Burn, Sean Longstaff and Anthony Gordon were all included from the start for Eddie Howe’s side. Meanwhile in a bid to change the game, Newcastle also turned to four English players from the bench with the likes of Joe Willock, Jacob Murphy, Matt Targett and Callum Wilson all appearing as substitutes.

Newcastle will have high hopes of bettering Blackburn’s points tally in the Champions League this season after a draw against AC Milan and a victory against PSG in their earlier group games. The Blackburn team that competed in the 1995/96 Champions League qualified for the tournament as a result of their Premiership title triumph the year before.

The squad featured top English talent at the time including Alan Shearer, Tim Sherwood, Graeme Le Saux, Chris Sutton and many more. But despite their domestic success they failed to translate their form onto the European stage and they finished bottom of a group featuring Rosenborg, Spartak Moscow and Legia Warsaw. Ray Harford’s side recorded just four points from six games and had to wait for their final game in the competition to register their first victory when they beat Rosenborg 4-1.