Eddie Howe on the good, bad & ugly from Marseille 2-1 Newcastle - Watch here

Our hopes of automatically qualifying for the knockout stages of the Champions League were dealt a blow as we fell to a 2-1 defeat at  Marseille last night.

An early goal from the in-form Harvey Barnes gave us a 1-0 lead, but we were left to regret missed chances, Nick Pope's error and a quick-fire brace from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who turned the game completely on its head early in the second half.

The result leaves us on nine points from our opening five games, meaning matches against Bayer Leverkusen and PSV Eindhoven may now be must-wins if we're to stand any chance of making the top eight of the league phase.

Here’s what Eddie Howe had to say after a frustrating night in the south of France:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4VaUIwJRZfE

On overall performance vs Marseille

With the prospect of a record-setting fourth straight Champions League win up for grabs, expectations were high for the team tonight to end our recent away form slump and put one foot into the next round of the competition.

But missed chances on the break from Anthony Gordon and a five-minute collapse coupled with a sloppy response to Marseille taking the lead sees us leave France frustrated and questioning what could've been after such a superb start.

“Such disappointment for us because it could have been so different. It started so well, we took a really positive step forward in the way we approached the game today.

“We were a transition threat, we pressed really well in the first half, and it could have been so different. There are areas we can improve. These are the games we want to play in and test ourselves in.”

Howe was brutally honest with his assessment of the second half, insisting his team were too slow to react to the early setback and quickly paid the price by conceding two bad goals and "chucking away" our lead:

"The two goals, the manner of the goal was disappointing. Chucking away a lead again, very disappointing. Losing away from home, very disappointing.

“The second half I think we did not react to the goal. We did not react to the goal, we were on the back foot and the crowd came into it. Then we were not at our best.

“I will learn more from watching it back. We need the intent to go for more goals in games. The intent was there. Maybe our press was not as intense as it has been. 1-0 is a delicate scoreline and we did not defend well enough.”

Despite the defeat, Howe felt there were still plenty of positive moments to reflect on, believing we carried a goal threat all night:

“We've been a threat. We've been athletically really good. It was a much improved performance and didn't break the game.”

“For me, the performance today was strong. I thought we did carry a goal threat, which at times, away from home this year, we haven't. I think we had 20 shots in the end. I was pleased with a lot of the performance.”

Howe - "We are ready to fight back"

It was a hostile atmosphere inside the Stade Velodrome, but once we took the lead, we were able to drown out the partisan crowd and should have been able to see out the game.

But for the third away game in our last four, we took the lead and lost it, which raises further questions about the squad’s away-day mentality.

Howe admits we come away bruised and frustrated, but hopes to see us bounce back after winning our previous three in Europe to put us in such a strong position:

 “The result leaves us a little bit bruised. But we'll come back. We have some great games ahead.

"This competition was never going to be straightforward, it's an elite competition that will make us better for all these experiences.

"Today is a tough one to take, but the lads are robust, experienced and we are ready to fight back."