Geordies Dan Burn and Sean Longstaff both scored to help Newcastle put Paris St Germain to the sword as Champions League football returned to Tyneside with a bang.

More than two decades since the Magpies last played in the competition, they rekindled memories of their first ever outing, a 3-2 victory over Barcelona in 1997, by thumping the French champions 4-1 in front of a crowd of 52,009 at a delirious St James’ Park.

Miguel Almiron set the ball rolling with the club’s first Champions League goal since Alan Shearer’s double at Inter Milan in March 2003, but it was local boys Burn and Longstaff who put the Group F fixture beyond Luis Enrique’s side before Fabian Schar smashed home a superb fourth to secure three points to go with the one with which they had returned from AC Milan a fortnight earlier.

PSG, whose owners Qatar Sports Investments have poured so much money into an as yet unrequited quest for European glory, simply did not cope with the home side’s high press before the break and failed to utilise fully the inestimable talents of Kylian Mbappe and company even after Lucas Hernandez had given them a glimmer of hope.

The game kicked off amid a cacophony and the volume only rose as the industry of Alexander Isak and Anthony Gordon caused problems for keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma and defender Marquinhos early on.

However, it was the visitors who went agonisingly close to taking the lead with just five minutes gone when 17-year-old midfielder Warren Zaire-Emery broke from his own half and fed Mbappe, whose cross was volleyed inches wide by Ousmane Dembele with Nick Pope helpless.

Achraf Hakimi was relieved to see Almiron fire over from distance after intercepting his loose pass seconds later, but Newcastle went ahead with 17 minutes gone after the Frenchmen once again shot themselves in the foot.

Bruno Guimaraes got his head to Marquinhos’ poor clearance and although Donnarumma made a superb reaction save after Isak had spun and fired towards goal, Almiron pounced on the rebound to open the scoring with his third goal in as many starts.

PSG responded in determined fashion and Goncalo Ramos saw his effort deflected out for a corner seconds after Schar had whipped a first-time shot inches wide of Donnarumma’s left post from Kieran Trippier’s intelligent corner.

Isak was left bloodied after a clash of heads with Hernandez, but was able to carry on after having the wound bandaged and a change of shirt, and his side’s fortunes took a significant turn for the better six minutes before the break.

The Paris defence failed to deal with Trippier’s free-kick and Donnarumma clawed the ball out of his top corner and then saved at his near post as shots rained in, but although the keeper also managed to get a hand to Burn’s header after he climbed high to meet the excellent Guimaraes’ cross, the ball was adjudged to have crossed the line after a lengthy VAR review.

PSG returned knowing a sizeable improvement was required, but they fell further behind within five minutes when Almiron’s pace and the precision of Trippier’s pass to Longstaff allowed the midfielder to drill a shot towards Donnarumma’s near post, where the Italian could only help the ball into his own net.

They grabbed a lifeline with 56 minutes gone when Hernandez timed his run to perfection to glance Zaire-Emery’s lofted ball beyond Pope and instantly looked a more dangerous proposition with Mbappe, Dembele and substitutes Bradley Barcola and Vitinha injecting much-needed vigour.

But all too often, they lacked the precision to hurt their hosts and when they did create meaningful openings, as they did when Dembele span and fired towards goal with 13 minutes remaining, they found Pope in indomitable form.

Mbappe blasted impotently wide with five minutes remaining to the delight of the home crowd, who were on their feet once again in stoppage time after Schar had thumped a shot high past Donnarumma and into the top corner.

Manchester City struck twice late on to continue the winning start to their Champions League defence with a hard-fought 3-1 success at RB Leipzig.

Julian Alvarez finally settled City’s nerves in Wednesday’s Group G encounter with a fine strike six minutes from at the Red Bull Arena before fellow substitute Jeremy Doku wrapped up the win.

Phil Foden had opened the scoring midway through a first half the holders dominated but the hosts responded against the run of play through Lois Openda.

Foden hit the woodwork as City pushed for a winner but, with Erling Haaland faltering in front of goal, it looked like being a frustrating night until Alvarez struck.

That City would need such late heroics from the bench seemed unlikely as they controlled the first half.

The presence of Rodri, who is currently serving a domestic ban, brought a noticeable calm that was missing in his absence in Saturday’s defeat at Wolves.

Yet it was Rico Lewis, playing alongside him in midfield, who caught the eye with his determination to win possession and some driving runs.

Lewis had City’s first serious opportunity after a nice turn in the area but his shot was blocked. Foden drove the ball back across goal from the rebound but Bernardo Silva, returning to the side after injury, failed to turn it in at the far post.

City’s opener came after 25 minutes from another attack instigated by Lewis. The lively youngster pushed forward and played a one-two with Silva before pulling back for Foden in the area.

The England international met it with a first-time shot that bounced beyond Janis Blaswich.

City pushed for a second before the break, with Haaland twice breaking free on the left but the Norwegian first shot wide and was then denied by Blaswich.

It was not until the final minute of the first half that Leipzig had an effort on goal when Openda’s long-range shot was deflected over and City reached the break looking completely untroubled.

All their good work was undone within moments of the restart as Jack Grealish misplaced a pass and they were caught by a Leipzig counter-attack.

Yussuf Poulsen released Openda with a pass from the centre circle and the Belgium international raced through to beat Ederson with a low shot that went in off the base of the post.

Haaland threatened to restore City’s lead when he fired wide and then spurned an even better chance when he missed the target from a Foden cross.

Foden went closer when he curled a free-kick against the bar from a wide angle but Haaland’s frustration continued as he shot at Blaswich and skewed another effort over.

City were caught on the break again but were reprieved when Emil Forsberg failed to find a colleague in the box and Ederson needed to punch clear after substitute Timo Werner broke free.

Pep Guardiola’s changes made the difference as Doku teed up Alvarez to clip a fine shot over Blaswich from the edge of the area.

Doku then put the seal on victory when he finished off a quick break in injury time as Leipzig paid the price for pushing players forward.

Celtic have repeated their request for supporters to stop using pyrotechnics after being hit with another fine from UEFA.

The club said they had been fined 23,400 euros (about £20,260) after fans lit fireworks in the stands ahead of their Champions League group opener against Feyenoord in Rotterdam.

A spokesperson for Celtic said: “Clearly, we are concerned that, despite repeated requests and safety warnings, a small minority continue to use pyrotechnics at Celtic’s matches.

“The use of pyrotechnics represents a serious risk to the safety of our supporters.

“Celtic has been hit with another significant sanction by UEFA due to this behaviour. Again, the club requests that this conduct stops.”

News of the fine came hours before their first home game of the competition against Lazio.

Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard believes Bukayo Saka would be a miss for any team in the world as the England winger faces an anxious wait to see if he will be fit to face Manchester City.

Saka limped out of Tuesday’s 2-1 Champions League defeat in Lens, with manager Mikel Arteta admitting afterwards that it “didn’t look good” for the 22-year-old.

It was the third game in a row that Saka had started and failed to finish having also been forced off against Tottenham and in Saturday’s 4-0 win at Bournemouth.

He recovered from those two knocks to start at the Stade Bollaert-Delelis, where he teed up Gabriel Jesus to put the visitors ahead early on.

However, an error from David Raya led to Adrien Thomasson equalising before Saka’s night came to a premature end when he hobbled off with just 34 minutes on the clock.

Elye Wahi went on to hit the winner for the home side, who were hosting their first Champions League game in over two decades.

Meanwhile, Saka – who has featured in Arsenal’s last 87 Premier League games – now faces a race against time to be fit for the visit of reigning champions City on Sunday.

“We still have some great players, but I think every team in the world would miss Bukayo,” Odegaard said in the aftermath of the surprise loss.

“But we have to see what happens in the next few days. Hopefully it’s not too bad and he’s going to be ready.

“It’s a big game coming up and everyone is excited for the game. It will be a good game to play in. We have to look forward, make sure we’re ready and show up on the Sunday.”

This is Arsenal’s first season back in the Champions League in six years and – after thrashing PSV Eindhoven 4-0 in the opening Group B clash – their largely-inexperienced squad was given a reminder of how tough Europe’s top-tier club competition can be.

Asked if having to juggle Premier League and Champions League football could become a challenge, Odegaard replied: “I don’t think it’s an issue.

“Of course it’s tough to play in Europe. We played a good team, they were strong. They made it very difficult for us.

“We have to look at ourselves, learn, move on. I’m sure we’re going to get better and better so we take the lessons and move on.

“We want to win every game we play. Of course we’re disappointed now, but I think we got some good lessons today so we have to look at it in that way and make sure we learn.”

Under-pressure Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag is not worried about losing his job after his side’s horror start to the season continued with a Champions League home defeat to Galatasaray.

The Red Devils threw away a 2-1 lead to fall to a 3-2 loss at a rain-soaked Old Trafford and suffer their worst start to a season since 1986.

They have lost six of their opening 10 games for the first time in 37 years and their chances of getting out of the group stages already look in doubt after just two matches.

But Ten Hag, who says there are “no excuses” for his side’s dismal performances, insist everyone at the club is pulling in the same direction.

Asked whether he feared for his job, the Dutchman said: “Last season: brilliant, terrific, more than we could expect.

“We also knew in this project there would be common gaps. At this moment we are in a very difficult period as everyone can see but we come out together, we are fighting together, we are sticking together and we are behind each other. That is me, the directors, the team, all together we will fight.

“This is not us, we know we have to do better, with togetherness we will come out.

“If I give an explanation, then you will see as excuses, there are no excuses. We can’t make the errors we are now making. We have to do better, it is a simple fact, we have to win our games.”

United had victory in their own hands after two Rasmus Hojlund goals, either side of former United winger Wilfried Zaha’s leveller, put them on course for a much-needed win.

But Kerem Akturkoglu again pegged them back and then a woeful error by Andre Onana set them on a path to self-destruction as his abysmal pass led to Casemiro fouling Dries Mertens in the penalty area and the Brazilian was sent off.

Mauro Icardi missed the resulting penalty, but made amends three minutes later as he grabbed the winner and sealed a first ever victory on English soil for the Turkish side.

Onana also made a costly gaffe in the Group A opener at Bayern Munich a fortnight ago but Ten Hag, who managed him at Ajax, has backed the Cameroonian to come good.

“We are happy with our goalkeeping group, definitely with Andre,” Ten Hag said. “He was in one semi-final of the Champions League, last year he was in the final of the Champions League, he has the capablilties to be one of the best goalkeepers in the world.

“He has shown that and he will do. We already have seen in games his great capabilites, also his personality after he made mistakes. He will bounce back and I am sure he will in the coming games as well.”

Galatasaray were good value for their victory and are now a good bet to progress to the knockout stages, having taken four points from their opening two games.

“In the second half I believe we played better, we had more chances,” coach Okan Buruk said. “At the end of the day we are happy, we won against this team, a very important team.

“This victory is very important for Turkish football, for us and for our standing in the group.”

Mikel Arteta defended his decision to play Bukayo Saka as the Arsenal winger limped out of their Champions League defeat to Lens.

The Gunners had taken the lead through Gabriel Jesus but Adrien Thomasson levelled following a David Raya error before Saka hobbled out of the game.

Lens would go on to win 2-1 courtesy of a second-half strike from Elye Wahi but it was the injury to Saka that will have concerned Arteta more.

Reigning Premier League champions Manchester City visit the Emirates Stadium in five days and Saka’s involvement is now in doubt with the England forward having been forced off in the last three games.

Asked if he regretted picking Saka following his issues against both Tottenham and Bournemouth, Arteta replied: “No. It was a knock that he had the other day and he was perfectly fine. It was a back-heel, an action that can produce that kind of injury.

“Let’s see what the extent of it is and afterwards it’s too late. The last few were more knocks than anything else.

“He hasn’t really missed games. We gave him a break against Brentford (in the Carabao Cup) last week and that was all.

“He tried to backheel a ball in the first half and felt something muscular. He felt uncomfortable to carry on so we had to take him off.

“We don’t know anything more. It was big enough not to allow him to continue to play the game and that’s a worry for us.

“He was really looking forward to playing like every player. It was a big Champions League night. I painted a picture and the type of scenario we were going to face today and they all knew about it.

“But this Champions League is so difficult to win away from home. Today we take a big lesson.”

The defeat ended a forgettable 24 hours for Arsenal after bad weather grounded Arteta and his players at Luton airport for five hours on Monday as their journey to France was delayed.

Now their hopes of avoiding a bumpy ride in qualifying for the knockout stages have also suffered a setback after a turbulent night at a rocking Stade Bollaert-Delelis.

“No, let’s not put excuses,” Arteta said when asked if the preparations for the game had impacted on a poor team performance.

“First of all, congratulations to Lens. They are a really good side. Really well coached. We knew it was going to be a really tough match.

“In the boxes we had four or five chances we didn’t put away and we didn’t defend the boxes well enough.

“It’s true there were moments in the second half we struggled to be more threatening in the final third and find spaces.

“They defended with those numbers really good. That’s something to take for the next game.”

Lens had started the season slowly but won their two Ligue 1 games leading into a first Champions League home game in 21 years and defender Kevin Danso was delighted with the outcome.

“We gave it our all today in front of our own fans,” he said.

“It was a difficult game, Arsenal had a lot of quality and made us sit back really deep, but we kept defending and kept our concentration. Luckily we won the game.

“At home we know how strong we are, in front of our fans. That’s what we always try to do: win at home. I’m a bit gutted about the clean sheet, but we’ll take the three points definitely.”

Bayern Munich came from behind to secure a 2-1 win over Copenhagen in the Champions League at Parken Stadium.

A shock was on the cards in Denmark when Lukas Lerager opened the scoring for Copenhagen 10 minutes after the break, but Munich were on level terms through Jamal Musiala’s clever strike from outside the area.

The decisive moment of the game came with 83 minutes on the clock when Mathys Tel lashed home from inside the box to break Copenhagen hearts and deny them a point.

The hosts had the first chance of the game through Mohamed Elyounoussi, but his effort from inside the area was well saved by Sven Ulreich.

Munich enjoyed the lion’s share of possession through the early stages before Elyounoussi had another chance for the home side – this time his header went straight into the gloves of Bayern goalkeeper.

Bayern came close to an opener themselves on the half-hour mark, but Joshua Kimmich’s drilled shot from outside the area flew marginally over the crossbar.

It took 45 minutes for the the visitors to register their first shot on target when Leroy Sane found space outside the area, but his whipped left-footed strike was comfortably held by Kamil Grabara.

The visitors went in search of the first goal early in the second half when Kimmich decided to have another go from range, but he was denied by Grabara again.

Much to the surprise of many, the home side opened the scoring in the 55th minute. Viktor Claesson jinked past two defenders before his initial goalbound effort was blocked, only for the ball to fall to Lerager who flashed home from inside the area.

Bayern instantly tried to shift the momentum to avoid defeat and almost got their equaliser eight minutes later, but Konrad Laimer’s header went marginally wide of a post.

Two minutes later, Thomas Tuchel’s side levelled in superb fashion through Musiala’s 67th-minute strike. The forward shifted the ball from left to right before he let fly from just outside the area and into the bottom right corner.

Munich pushed for a winner but Sane’s effort from a tight angle did not test Grabara in the home goal. Copenhagen did not want to settle for the solitary point either and could have regained their advantage, but Elyounoussi’s shot flew just wide of the target.

With seven minutes left on the clock, Bayern turned the game on its head after some fantastic work from Thomas Muller. He opened up the space for Tel, who blasted high into the net from 10 yards to make it two wins from their opening two Champions League games in Group A.

Jude Bellingham’s dream start to life at Real Madrid continued as his mesmerising solo goal helped the Spanish giants down Napoli to make it two wins from two in this season’s Champions League.

Having grabbed a last-gasp winner to see off Union Berlin a fortnight ago, Bellingham first teed up Vinicius Junior to score after Leo Ostigard had put Napoli ahead at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.

Bellingham’s fabulous driving run and strike put Real ahead and, although they were pegged back by Piotr Zielinski’s penalty, Federico Valverde’s venomous strike rebounded off Alex Meret as Napoli lost 3-2.

Bellingham’s stunning goal – his eighth in nine matches since moving to the Spanish capital in the summer – threatened to be overshadowed by a contentious penalty awarded to the hosts.

Nacho Fernandez was penalised as the ball inadvertently cannoned off his legs into his arm after he had slid to cut out a cross from Victor Osimhen. While a corner was awarded on-field, referee Emil Bozinovski reversed his decision and gave a spot-kick after being summoned to the VAR monitor.

But Meret’s own goal saw Carlo Ancelotti enjoy a winning return to the side he managed from May 2018 to December 2019 as Real moved on to six points to go top of Group C.

Bellingham was immediately into the thick of proceedings as a long ball allowed Rodrygo to stretch his legs, although the Brazilian was unsettled enough by Stanislav Lobotka to shoot straight at Meret.

Bellingham and Aurelien Tchouameni blazed over, but Napoli opened the scoring in the 19th minute, thanks in part to Real goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga missing a punch to clear Khvicha Kvaratskhelia’s corner.

Although Bernardo Natan’s looping header thudded back off the bar, Ostigard was able to leap over Real defender Dani Carvajal to nod the rebound into an empty net.

The lead lasted eight minutes as Bellingham stretched to intercept Giovanni Di Lorenzo’s clumsy pass deep in Napoli’s half before teeing up Vinicius, who calmly slotted across Meret from an acute angle.

Real then went ahead for the first time in the 34th minute thanks to some magic from Bellingham, who collected on halfway, drove forward into the area and bulldozed his way round Ostigard before tucking a right-footed effort into the corner past Meret for his second Champions League goal in two matches.

Kepa atoned for his earlier error by getting a strong hand to keep out a header from Osimhen, who came out on top in an aerial battle with Antonio Rudiger, to keep Real ahead at half-time.

However, Napoli got the benefit of a questionable VAR decision after Osimhen’s attempted cross was cut out in the area by Nacho, whose sliding challenge ricocheted off his arm and out of play.

Bozinovski seemed bemused after being told to wait, but when he was called to the monitor the referee duly awarded a penalty, converted via a post by Zielinski, who scored his 50th Napoli goal.

That moment of fortune lifted Napoli as Kvaratskhelia shot wide before Zielinski saw his stinging drive from distance palmed away by Kepa, with Real forced to soak up some intense pressure on the hour.

Shortly after Ancelotti sent on Luka Modric, Real went close to retaking the lead as Carvajal’s snap shot was parried into the path of Bellingham, who headed the rebound wide, to his dismay.

But Real went ahead with 12 minutes left as Modric’s corner was only cleared to Valverde, who brought the ball down and unleashed a thunderbolt that crashed off the crossbar then thumped off the back of an unsuspecting Meret, who had been beaten for pace by the shot, before nestling in the net.

Ostigard forced Kepa into a save late on as Real rode a few nervy moments to pick up an important win.

Arsenal suffered a turbulent night in the Champions League as Bukayo Saka hobbled off during defeat in Lens.

Bad weather grounded Mikel Arteta and his players at Luton Airport for five hours on Monday as their journey to France was delayed.

Now their hopes of avoiding a bumpy ride in qualifying for the knockout stages have also suffered a setback after Lens came from behind to record a 2-1 victory at a rocking Stade Bollaert-Delelis.

Gabriel Jesus thought he had given the Gunners lift-off when he broke the deadlock with his 22nd Champions League goal.

However, hopes of an easy night veered off course as an error from goalkeeper David Raya led to Adrien Thomasson levelling before Saka limped off hurt for the third time in nine days.

Elye Wahi then hit the winner with 20 minutes to go to open up Group B as Arsenal now face a tricky trip to Europa League holders Sevilla later in the month.

This was a first home Champions League game in 21 years for Lens and their fans were not going to miss the opportunity to enjoy the occasion.

A huge tifo, flares and a wall of sound greeted kick-off and their team certainly set about Arsenal in the opening exchanges, with Kevin Danso firing just wide after collecting a corner.

Despite the rapid start from the hosts, Arsenal struck first through Jesus’ tidy finish into the bottom corner after Saka had been gifted the ball by a sloppy backpass.

The noise inside the stadium remained despite Lens falling behind and the vociferous support were rewarded with an equaliser.

Raya, stood outside his box, looked to play a ball into midfield but the Arsenal goalkeeper’s pass was intercepted and moments later he was beaten by a fine curling strike from Thomasson to level the contest.

For the third game in a row, Saka then limped off injured having gone down off the ball.

He recovered after coming off late against Tottenham and Bournemouth but was replaced by Fabio Vieira here with the visit of Manchester City just five days away.

Leandro Trossard forced a smart save out of Brice Samba in the Lens goal at the start of the second-half as Arsenal looked to retake the lead.

The Ligue 1 side, though, started to take control of the game and Abdul Samed’s shot into the side-netting just after the interval was a warning for the visitors.

With the game opening up, Takehiro Tomiyasu had a great chance to turn home a corner but could only shoot straight at Mendy.

Lens would take the lead through Wahi, whose sweeping finish past Raya came after another break down the right flank.

Arteta responded with an immediate triple substitution as Ben White replaced Oleksandr Zinchenko with the ineffectual pair of Trossard and Kai Havertz taken off for Emile Smith Rowe and Reiss Nelson.

Despite the alterations, Samba was largely untroubled for the remainder of the night, punching clear a Smith Rowe drive with Arsenal unable to create a clearcut chance to rescue a point.

Manchester United fell to a jaw-dropping, error-ridden 3-2 defeat at home to Galatasaray as Erik ten Hag’s side saw their start to the season go from bad to worse in an embarassing Champions League collapse.

Having lost their Group A opener at Bayern Munich and fallen to a fourth defeat in seven Premier League matches on Saturday, the Red Devils reached a new low on a wet Tuesday night at Old Trafford.

Rasmus Hojlund scored a superb second after his opener was cancelled out by Galatasaray’s grinning former United forward Wilfried Zaha, only for Ten Hag’s men to spectacularly unravel.

Kerem Akturkoglu equalised and summer signing Andre Onana’s atrocious pass out straight to Dries Mertens led to a poor Casemiro recovery challenge that saw the Brazil midfielder sent off and a penalty awarded.

The goalkeeper – guilty of a costly gaffe in Munich – was relieved to see Mauro Icardi strike the spot-kick wide, but the striker swiftly made amends as United fell to a third Old Trafford loss of the campaign

Barcelona boss Xavi insists his side are “ready” for their first away game in the Champions League against Porto on Wednesday.

Barca were victorious in their opening game in the competition after they ran riot with a 5-0 win over Antwerp thanks to goals from Robert Lewandowski, Gavi, Jelle Batille’s own goal and a Joao Felix double.

Xavi’s side will be looking to make it two wins from two with victory at the Estadio do Dragao which would put them in an early comfortable position of qualifying from the group stages, something they failed to do in the competition last year.

Xavi knows the size of the task in front of his team but thinks they are prepared for the challenge.

He told Barca TV: “This is the Champions League. We are ready and excited to play tomorrow.

“We have in front a very difficult club in this stadium. It will be tough and really difficult because they play well, a good team with a good coach, very intensive, but we are ready.

“We are really excited and let’s see tomorrow.”

Felix has enjoyed a bright start to life in Barcelona since making the loan switch from Spanish rivals Atletico Madrid, notching three goals in his first six matches.

The forward will come up against a team from his native Portugal but insists “it is just another game”.

He added: “It may be special because it is a Portuguese side and more family and friends will be in the stands, but this is just another game that we aim to win.

“We want to take the Champions League step by step. Our aim is to get through the group and this is probably the toughest game of the group stage.”

Porto opened their campaign with a 3-1 win against Shakhtar Donetsk and have not faced Barcelona in the Champions League for 23 years.

Boss Sergio Conceicao said: “Let’s go into the game thinking that we can and should win. With confidence. The respect we have for our opponents doesn’t have to make us afraid of anything.

“All teams have weaknesses that can be exploited. We have to be solid in defence and then take advantage of any weaknesses (in Barcelona) to win the game.”

Paris St Germain boss Luis Enrique has admitted Newcastle were the pot four team nobody wanted to draw as they renew their acquaintance with the Champions League.

The French side, along with AC Milan and Borussia Dortmund, have been pitched into Group F battle with the Magpies, who are back in the big time after a 20-year absence following last season’s fourth-placed Premier League finish.

Enrique, part of the Barcelona side which lost 3-2 at St James’ Park in Newcastle’s very first fixture in the competition in 1997, knows they could be a major threat on their return to the European stage.

He said: “They are the team from the fourth pot in the draw that no-one really wanted, of course. We know that they play at a high level.

“They’re very good in possession, they’re very good off the ball as well. They play with a very high press – they’re almost a complete football team.

“Tomorrow, they’re going to be playing in front of their extremely passionate supporters as well, and that’s going to help them.

“All teams can go far in the Champions League. There’s no reason why Newcastle can’t go far either. No-one wanted to play them, I guess, also because we saw how good they were last season.

“It’s a spectacular place to go and play and it will also be good for us to see what our team is made of playing at St James’ Park.

“I’m envious of my players because they’re going to get to experience that first-hand out on the pitch tomorrow, and I just hope that it’s a great game.”

Enrique remembers his visit to Tyneside with Barca well, although not fondly despite scoring on a night when Tino Asprilla’s brilliant hat-trick saw Kenny Dalglish’s men secure one of the club’s most famous victories.

He said: “Obviously it was a tough game, a really tough game. Twenty-six years ago seems a lifetime ago, I guess – I was certainly a lot younger than I am now.

“It is true that I scored – I think it finished 3-2? They had great players, a great atmosphere generated by the crowd. It wasn’t easy then and I don’t suppose it will be easy tomorrow either.”

Defender Lucas Hernandez arrived in the north east of England with a little extra inside knowledge after speaking to his younger brother Theo, who played for AC Milan in their 0-0 draw with the Magpies a fortnight ago.

Asked what he had been told, Hernandez said: “He told me they were very solid in defence. I know Milan created quite a few chances, but they didn’t take them on the night and of course in the Champions League, if you don’t take your chances, obviously you’re not going to win the game.

“He told me more than anything else, they’re solid, compact, they’re good on the counter-attack and some of the players are very quick going forward.”

AC Milan head coach Stefano Pioli insists his side are full of confidence as they look to get their first Champions League Group F win at Borussia Dortmund.

The Rossoneri, last season’s semi-finalists, were held to a goalless draw at home by Newcastle in their opening match, while Dortmund lost away to Paris St Germain.

Pioli’s team, though, have since won three straight Serie A games, with their only defeat so far this season a 5-1 loss to city rivals Inter.

Defeat in Paris is Dortmund’s sole loss from eight games in all competitions – and Pioli is expecting a vociferous atmosphere when AC Milan run out at the Westfalenstadion on Wednesday night

“Our recent wins in the league have given us confidence but now, tomorrow is all that matters,” Pioli told a press conference.

“Two years ago, when we played at Anfield, we were probably a bit afraid. But after a journey in Europe like ours, we’re able to compete in the competition and with atmospheres like this.

“We need to play with the right mentality and do all we can to try to win. The game is important in the group but there’s a long way to go, regardless of the outcome tomorrow. It won’t be decisive but the result will definitely matter.”

Pioli also highlighted Dortmund’s incredible home record in the Champions League.

He added: “They’ve not lost at home in the Champions League in almost two years.

“Dortmund play attacking football; they’re quick and have a lot of quality. We’ll need to be intelligent enough to attack the spaces and control the game at various moments.

“BVB are backed by a fantastic home support; we’ve spoken about these little details in training to be in the best shape possible for tomorrow evening.”

AC Milan look set to be without English midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek, who went off during the first half of Saturday’s Serie A win over Lazio with a groin problem.

French defender Pierre Kalulu has missed the last five games with a thigh injury, while midfielder Rade Krunic is also out with a similar issue and not expected to return until after the international break later in October.

Dortmund won 3-1 at Hoffenheim on Friday night before turning their attention back on the Champions League.

Despite having three victories from their last four games in all competitions, Dortmund coach Edin Terzic wants his side fully focussed on the challenge ahead.

“It will be a completely different game to the one against Paris (in the opening group game),” Terzic told a press conference.

“We have to be braver when we don’t have the ball. Milan have a different way of playing, but we have introduced a lot of good things in the last few games that will be crucial again.

“At this level, no game will be easy, but we have our first home game, with our guys and the fans in the stadium, so we want to get our first win tomorrow.”

Dortmund midfielder Marcel Sabitzer is closing in on a return from an adductor problem suffered against PSG, but the Austrian is not expected to be involved on Wednesday night.

Newcastle defender Kieran Trippier is relishing the task of ruining Kylian Mbappe’s Champions League trip to Tyneside even if it might upset his son.

Magpies full-back Trippier is likely to be in direct competition with the Paris St Germain superstar when the clubs go head-to-head in Group F at St James’ Park on Wednesday evening.

However, he has revealed his son Jacob is a huge fan of Mbappe – who was seen calling for his gloves as he and his team-mates trained at an autumnal St James’ on Tuesday evening – and that has been a bone of contention in the lead up to an eagerly-anticipated game.

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Trippier said with a smile: “I was having a bit of banter with him last night and he said he wanted to walk out with Mbappe instead of me. I wasn’t really happy with that.

“He’s obsessed with him, always watching his clips on YouTube. I said to him, ‘If you get to walk out with Mbappe, you don’t look at me in the tunnel’.”

Trippier saw how dangerous Mbappe can be at close hand at last year’s World Cup finals, where he watched from the bench as France dumped England out at the quarter-final stage, and has also come up against the supremely-talented 24-year-old on the pitch on more than one occasion in the past.

He said: “I played against him – I think it might have been his debut game for Monaco – when I was at Tottenham, and I played against him for England on my debut – it’s quite a few years ago.

“This is football. These are the games you want as a player, playing in the Champions League, playing against the best players, the best teams. Paris have got unbelievable players in the team.

“Of course we need to recognise that Mbappe is one of the best players in the world, but they’ve got quality all over the pitch and we can’t be too fixed on them.

“We need to play our way because on our day, we can hurt anyone.”

For head coach Eddie Howe, the task is to put together a side which can extend an unbeaten five-game run in all competitions and build upon the start they achieved with a 0-0 draw at AC Milan in their opening fixture.

He will have to do so, however, without key defender Sven Botman and in all likelihood, with midfielder Joelinton and striker Callum Wilson also missing through injury.

The fixture, which rekindles memories of a famous 3-2 victory over Barcelona in the same competition in 1997, is a measure of the progress Newcastle have made in the two years since Amanda Staveley’s consortium launched its successful takeover and Howe, who arrived a few weeks later, admits the speed of progress has taken everyone by surprise.

He said: “Things move really quickly in football. I haven’t been here the whole two years, but my part of it has absolutely flown by.

“Initially, nothing like this was in our thoughts, the speed at which it’s happened. The only thing in our thoughts was staying in the Premier League initially.

“But the swing of momentum has shifted so powerfully and quickly in a positive direction for us. My only thought is to keep that momentum for as long as we can.”

A positive result against PSG would provide further evidence of the strides which have been taken, and Trippier insists victory, rather than football tourism, is his only focus.

Asked if he would be chasing Mbappe’s shirt after the final whistle, he said: “That has not crossed my mind. My thought process is to win.”

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has accused referees of stealing the spotlight from players following last weekend’s VAR controversy in the Premier League.

The 52-year-old has sympathised with rivals Liverpool after the Reds had a goal against Tottenham incorrectly disallowed for offside following a VAR review.

It was arguably the most contentious of all decisions taken since the technology was introduced and prompted the Merseyside club to issue a strong statement saying “sporting integrity” had been undermined.

Guardiola is concerned that such incidences are detracting from the game’s main actors.

He said: “I understand completely how upset Liverpool must be in that case.

“They will have to find a system where the main roles are the players and the game itself. In all the countries, not just here. The referees and the VARs are the leading roles. And the Oscar goes to.

“They have to make a step back, be more humble and leave the players to do what they have to do, and they will be better.”

Guardiola did not have any suggestions himself on how the system could be improved.

“I am not a professional at that,” the Spaniard said. “I rely on the people and we have to apply it as best as possible. I am not involved and I don’t care.

“Everyone knows they made a mistake and Liverpool suffered the big consequence of that. In this type of game it is so important. But, no worries, the consequences will dictate the players and the managers.”

Guardiola was speaking to the media via a Zoom call after City were forced to rearrange their travel plans for Wednesday’s Champions League game at RB Leipzig.

He had been due to hold a pre-match press conference at the RB Arena on arrival on Tuesday afternoon but their flight was rescheduled for evening due to strong winds in the German city.

Guardiola brushed off the impact of the disruption ahead of the Group G encounter.

He said: “It’s no problem. That it’s safe to fly and land, that’s the important thing.”

John Stones and Bernardo Silva were due to travel with the squad having recently returned to training following injury.

Stones has not played since the Community Shield due to a thigh problem while Silva has missed the last three games with a knock.

Guardiola said: “They feel better, Bernardo better than John. Both travel and we’ll decide tomorrow. We’re really happy they’re back.”

Rodri, who still has one game of a domestic suspension to serve, will feature before being given time off ahead of the upcoming international break.

The Spain midfielder was sorely missed in last weekend’s defeat at Wolves and his absence will again be felt at Arsenal on Sunday but Guardiola hopes some good can come from the situation.

He said: “You always have to take the positive. Rodri’s going to play the game tomorrow and then I’ll give him a rest, go to the Maldives for four or five days before joining the national team.”

Guardiola, wearing a black armband, also paid tribute to former City player and chairman Francis Lee, who died this week.

He said: “We are here (because of) people like Franny Lee, Mike Summerbee, Colin Bell, part of the generation that created a part of this organisation, this club.

“On behalf of the team, to his wife and all the family, a huge hug.”