AC Milan 0-0 Newcastle: Huge point as Toon hold on in Champions League opener
Newcastle kicked off their Champions League campaign with a precious point at AC Milan, having Nick Pope to thank for our 0-0 draw at the San Siro.
The Toon stopper made a series of saves - nine in total - to preserve his second straight clean sheet, sending us into home games against PSG and Borussia Dortmund with something to build on.
Speaking pitch side to TNT Sports before the game, Eddie Howe's message was clear. 'Enjoy it, but do yourselves justice and rise to the challenge'. He asked his players to 'attack it' and make the most of this opportunity after working so hard to be here.
In truth, we never really laid a glove on Milan, as our first shot on target came from Sean Longstaff in the 95th minute. But, we stood strong in tough conditions, rode our luck and leave Milan with a good result on our first game back amongst Europe's elite for over 20 years. Pope will make the headlines, but all of the back five played key roles, with Trippier and Burn both coming up trumps in the second half on more than one occasion.
There was one big surprise when the official teams were released. Many - including myself - expected Miguel Almiron to start, but it was boyhood fan Jacob Murphy who was selected down the right. Elsewhere, Alexander Isak and Sandro Tonali came back into the XI after rests on Saturday, replacing Callum Wilson and Elliot Anderson; who were both on the bench.
The Champions League music belted out and I'm sure I joined thousands of Mags around the world in feeling pretty emotional. Proud, excited, nervous and in utter disbelief that we were finally here after last season's sensational top-four finish. The camera panned across the team, with local lads Dan Burn and Sean Longstaff living the dream and Jacob Murphy unable to hold back a grin as the famous anthem belted out.
We made a positive start, showing composure in possession, committing bodies forward and looking anything but overawed by the occasion. Whether it was Trippier's dangerous ball into the box, Tonali's burst down the left or a ball in behind for Murphy that was only cutout by a shirt-pull that went unpunished, we looked far more threatening than the hosts over the opening 10 minutes. The only criticism was our inability to test the untroubled Maignan.
Just as we began to look comfortable, Milan created three chances in a matter of seconds after a poor lapse in concentration from Burn. First, Pobega's thunderous strike was parried by Pope, then Chukwueze had a back-post header stopped before Giroud's flick was beaten away once again by Pope. We'd settled well, but we were lucky to stay level after that manic 60 seconds and had to stay in it after a period of Milan pressure.
They weren't pressing us, giving our back line time and space to settle into the game, but Milan were beginning to cause us real problems whenever they got forward. After Krunic's effort from distance forced a corner, another big opening came the way of Hernandez. The Frenchman was unmarked and should've scored, but his downward header was tipped away by Pope as we survived another big scare.
The first 10 minutes belonged to us, but we had Nick Pope and poor finishing to thank in the next 15 as we approached the half hour mark. Moments after, the referee waved away a penalty shout from Sean Longstaff before Milan went straight down the other end, seeing Hernandez almost set up a near-post tap-in for Giroud; who thankfully fired into the side netting. The action didn't stop there, as Rafa Leao's mazy run ended with a block off the line from Murphy after the Portuguese star tripped over his own feet just as he looked set to pull the trigger.
I had no idea how Loftus-Cheek escaped a yellow for two rugby tackles on Bruno, but right-back Calabria soon became the first player booked for dissent just before the break. With that, the hosts made a change at half time, seeing the caution skipper be replaced by Italian international Alessandro Florenzi.
One player who had to do better on the ball in the final 45 was Dan Burn. Many of Milan's openings came from cheap giveaways and our big man from Blyth was regularly displaying his limitations in possession. Saying that, he showed his importance at the other end soon after the restart, heading away two dangerous set piece deliveries.
We had plenty of the ball, but Milan's 15 shots to our two showed they were doing more with it. Finding the balance was key. A point on the road would be a good one, but we were starting to sit deeper which invited Milan pressure, relying on the odd counter instead of controlling possession.
A double change followed as Callum Wilson and Miguel Almiron replaced Murphy and Gordon, which saw Isak move out to the left and Miggy down the right. Milan made changes of their own, one of which saw Christian Pulisic, giving Burn a different threat to death with as we approached the final 20 minutes. On the subject of former Chelsea players, Loftus-Cheek pulled up and was replaced by Yunus Musah, then Tonali was given a standing ovation by many inside the San Siro as Elliot Anderson replaced the Italian. A special moment for Tonali.
Moments later, Milan's first big chance of the second half fell to Leao. He got a yard on Trippier and met a superb delivery from Florenzi, but his glancing header landed on the roof of the net. After that, we had Miguel Almiron to thank, as he stayed switched on at the back post to deny Hernandez before two heroic blocks followed from the resulting corner. Like in the first half, it was a flurry of Milan pressure that left us hanging on.
We had a one-man counter from Almiron, who did well to break free from Leao, but it summed up our fading energy levels and determination to protect what we had that he was the only Mag able to break forward. Sloppiness slipped back into our game and we look shattered, giving Milan more hope of a late winner as we entered five minutes of added time.
Isak - who didn't look comfortable on the left - was then replaced by Harvey Barnes. We won a late free-kick with three minutes to play and threw our big men up in hope of a late winner. It was cleared and a Milan counter followed, but captain fantastic Kieran Trippier showed his class to cut it out, winning a crucial tackle before keeping the ball in. His moment of class allowed one last attack, which ended with our first shot on goal from Sean Longstaff, who saw his edge of the box effort tipped over superbly at the death.
The resultant corner came to nothing and it ended all square, sealing a 0-0 draw at the San Siro and a hard fought point. A spirited and committed display that relied on some luck, plenty of grit and a superb display from Nick Pope.
Next up, a trip to Sheffield United on Sunday, followed by a Carabao Cup clash with Man City a week today.
(4-3-3): Pope – Trippier, Schar, Botman, Burn – Longstaff, Bruno, Tonali – Murphy, Isak, Gordon.
SUBS: Karius, Harris, Dummett, Lascelles, Wilson, Targett, Barnes, Hall, Livramento, Almiron, Anderson, Miley
Milan XI: Maignan; Calabria, Tomori, Thiaw, Hernández, Loftus-Cheek, Krunić, Pobega; Chukwueze, Leão, Giroud.
