Newcastle return to the Champions League group stage for the first time in two decades on Tuesday night.
The Magpies travel to San Siro, where they take on AC Milan before facing PSG and Borussia Dortmund in their remaining Group F fixtures.
Here, the PA news agency takes a look at the last time Newcastle were in Europe’s premier club competition back in 2002-03.
First Group Stage
After qualifying for the competition with a fourth-placed finish in the previous Premier League season, Newcastle reached the first group stage of the tournament where they were drawn against Dynamo Kiev, Feyenoord and Juventus in Group E.
Their opening fixture against Dynamo Kiev ended in defeat at the Olympic Stadium in Ukraine’s capital as Maksim Shatskikh and Alyaksandr Khatskevich gave the hosts the advantage, while captain Alan Shearer came away with four stitches in his head following a challenge from Andriy Husin.
Sebastian Pardo’s fourth-minute volley condemned the Magpies to further Champions League misery the following week in a home fixture against Feyenoord in an end-to-end clash which saw goalkeeper Edwin Zoetebier make several fantastic saves to deny the hosts.
Their third game against Juventus kept them rooted to the bottom of the group without a point after suffering a 2-0 defeat with two goals from Alessandro Del Piero, and with three successive defeats under their belts Newcastle needed something drastic to salvage their European hopes.
Sir Bobby Robson’s side did just that, starting with Juve again at St James’ Park as full-back Andy Griffin got the ball rolling when his shot was turned into the net by goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon for the Tynesiders to edge to a 1-0 win.
Next up was a home fixture against Dynamo Kiev and they bounced back from Shatskikh’s opener when Gary Speed’s header brought the scores level before Shearer slotted the ball home from the penalty spot to secure a 2-1 win.
Needing nothing but a win against Feyenoord to stand a chance of progressing to the next stage, the scores were tied going into the final minutes and Craig Bellamy struck in injury time for Newcastle to secure a dramatic second-placed finish in Group E to reach the next phase of the competition.
Second Group Stage
The Magpies were drawn into Group A for the next stage of the competition and got off to a shaky start as three first-half goals set Inter Milan up to win 4-1 in the opening group fixture.
Robson’s return to the Nou Camp ended in defeat the following game as goals from Dani, Patrick Kluivert and Thiago Motta were enough for Barcelona to beat the Magpies 3-1 as the hosts earned a record 10th successive Champions League victory.
The Newcastle boss then celebrated his 70th birthday in style as his side kept their chances alive with a 3-1 victory over Bayer Leverkusen as Shola Ameobi’s double put them ahead before Franca pulled one back and Lomana LuaLua restored the two-goal cushion.
Shearer returned from suspension with a quick-fire hat-trick against the German side in the reverse fixture on Tyneside, heading home twice within six minutes in the opening stages before smashing the ball past Jorg Butt from the spot.
Six points against Leverkusen gave Newcastle hope for the remaining games against Inter and Barcelona and their tie at San Siro ended in a 2-2 draw as goals from Bellamy and Shearer were cancelled out by Christian Vieri and Ivan Cordoba.
Challenging for a quarter-final spot, the Magpies’ European dream was ended at St James’ Park by the LaLiga giants, who had already booked their spot in the final eight prior to the match, as Kluivert and Motta scored for the visitors, meaning Newcastle finished third in the group.
The following season the Tynesiders reached the third qualifying round of the competition, but fell to a 4-3 penalty defeat against Partizan Belgrade after the match ended 1-1 on aggregate.
Leverkusen star Wirtz named Bundesliga Player of the Year
Florian Wirtz played a starring role for Bayer Leverkusen this season and has been named the Bundesliga Player of the Year.
Wirtz scored 11 goals and provided a further 11 assists on the way to helping Leverkusen win their first-ever top-flight title.
The forward was pivotal in Leverkusen’s title charge as they became the first German team to complete an unbeaten season.
Only Victor Boniface has scored more goals than Wirtz this campaign, netting 14 times, while his tally of 11 assists is second only to Alejandro Grimaldo (13) across the Bundesliga.
Wirtz came off the bench to score a hat-trick in Leverkusen’s 5-0 win over Werder Bremen in April which clinched the title with five games remaining.
The Bundesliga champions still have the German Cup final on Saturday against Kaiserslautern, which follows the Europa League final against Atalanta on Wednesday.
Wirtz played a critical role in helping Leverkusen reach their third European final, having been involved in eight goals in the Europa League this season (four goals, four assists), the most of any player in the team.
He has also created 28 chances from open play in the competition, a tally only five players can better in a Europa League campaign, most recently Amin Younes for Ajax in 2016-17 (30).
In all competitions, Leverkusen’s unbeaten run stretches to 51 matches, as they aim to finish an unbeaten season with a treble.
Kane injury doubt for England Euro 2024 squad
Harry Kane may be a doubt for England’s Euro 2024 squad as he continues to struggle with a back problem.
Gareth Southgate is due to name his preliminary squad for Euro 2024 on Tuesday, ahead of upcoming friendlies against Bosnia and Herzegovina and Iceland.
The England captain missed the final two Bundesliga games of the season after going off towards the end of Bayern Munich’s Champions League semi-final second leg against Real Madrid.
Thomas Tuchel confirmed prior to their final match against Hoffenheim that Kane was back in England to undergo treatment.
When later asked again about the nature of the striker’s injury, Tuchel admitted that Kane had been struggling for a couple of weeks.
"In Madrid, it was borderline. We tried injections and treatments. The back has completely closed.
"It has gotten worse and kept breaking out in small, everyday movements. There's no chance he's even training."
Kane scored 36 league goals in his debut campaign for Bayern, though due to the injury, he finished five adrift of Robert Lewandowski’s single-season goal record of 41, set in 2019-20.
The final announcement of Southgate's 26-man squad will be revealed on June 7, ahead of the tournament opener against Serbia on June 16.
Pochettino prioritising continuity as Chelsea draw up transfer plans
Mauricio Pochettino feels continuity will be key for Chelsea ahead of his second season in charge, ruling out the prospect of another clear-out at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea clinched European qualification on the final day of the Premier League season on Sunday, a 2-1 win over Bournemouth ensuring they beat Newcastle United and Manchester United to sixth place.
The Blues finished the campaign with five straight victories, the first time they have achieved that feat since doing so in March 2022 under Thomas Tuchel.
A positive end to Pochettino's debut campaign has quietened talk of his job being under threat, and he wants to see evolution rather than revolution ahead of 2024-25.
"Does the club need new signings? Always, you can improve," Pochettino said after Sunday's victory.
"They are going to be much better next season because they will have one year of experience, a tough experience.
"That is the advantage of being solid and consistent and not making too many changes.
"Next season, if we keep 80 to 85 per cent of the squad, for sure it is a big step forward because it is about having continuity in the ideas and the knowledge between them. That is important for the club.
"That is a club decision. Like it was from the beginning, we [the coaching staff] are going to be there to help and if not, we are going to do our job."
Chelsea only lost one of their final 15 matches of the Premier League season (nine wins, five draws), with that defeat coming by a 5-0 scoreline at Arsenal in April.
Only Manchester City, Arsenal (16 each) and Liverpool (12) won more Premier League games than Chelsea's 10 between the turn of the year and the end of the campaign, with their total of 43 goals in that time ranking them fifth among all teams in the division.
Chelsea's overall tally of 77 goals in 2023-24 was their third-most in a Premier League season, behind only their title-winning campaigns of 2009-10 (103) and 2016-17 (85).
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