Eddie Howe was left fuming after Paris St Germain denied Newcastle a priceless Champions League victory with a controversial stoppage-time penalty.

The Magpies were heading for a famous 1-0 win at the Parc des Princes until Polish referee Szymon Marciniak awarded a spot-kick against Tino Livramento after a VAR review, allowing Kylian Mbappe to level in the eighth and final minute of added time.

Howe, who said in a television interview that the official had been placed under “extreme” pressure by the PSG players, labelled a decision which cost his side two precious points “poor” in his post-match press conference.

Asked if he felt a sense of injustice, the Newcastle boss said: “Yes, I do. It wasn’t the right decision in my opinion.

“There are so many things to take into account at that moment, the speed first. It was a ricochet that when it is slowed down, looks completely different to the live event.

“The ball hits his chest first, comes up and hits his hand. But his hand is not in an unnatural position, they [his hands] are down by his side, but he is in a running motion.

“I feel it is a poor decision and it’s hugely frustrating for us as you know how little time there is left in the game. There is nothing we can do about it now.”

The pivotal moment arrived in the fifth minute of stoppage time when Ousmane Dembele attempted to deliver the ball across the Newcastle penalty area and saw it hit Livramento’s side and rear up on to the underside of his arm.

Mr Marciniak, who had earlier seen decisions not to award spot-kicks for an Anthony Gordon challenge on Achraf Hakimi and a shout for handball against teenager midfielder Lewis Miley upheld, was advised to review the incident and this time decided to award the penalty.

The Magpies, who had taken a 24th-minute lead through Alexander Isak, defended it for grim life until the last-gasp controversy, although they needed Pope to be at his brilliant best on several occasions.

They now need to beat AC Milan at home on December 13 and hope PSG do not win away to Borussia Dortmund to progress.

Asked if that was something to cling on to, Howe, who celebrates his 46th birthday on Wednesday, said: “Yes, I think that’s absolutely right. In the next couple of days, that will become more relevant in our thoughts, I think.

 

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“When the draw came out, it was the ‘group of death’ and I don’t think many people gave us a chance of qualifying from it and sitting here now, I’m a little bit frustrated that it’s not in our hands because when I look back at the two Dortmund games, I felt we could have done better in those matches.

“I don’t think it’s the time for that, I think it’s probably a time to be positive and to say that if we can beat Milan, then good things can happen from it.”

For PSG boss Luis Enrique, there was a mixture of relief and frustration on a night when his side created a host of chances but were unable to take any of them until Mbappe’s late intervention.

Enrique said: “Without a doubt, we played a very great game. We deserved to win. We played better than Newcastle. The result does not reflect what happened on the pitch.

“It’s not basketball. We are one of the teams in Europe that scores the most. Sometimes the ball doesn’t want to go in.

“Sometimes the game looked like table tennis. I couldn’t believe we couldn’t score, but we carried on despite the frustration.”

Luis Enrique says Paris St Germain face a tougher task on their Ligue 1 return against Strasbourg than they will playing AC Milan in the Champions League four days later.

PSG return to action after the international break on Saturday behind top two Monaco and Nice, and with former France midfielder Patrick Vieira in the Strasbourg dug out at the Parc des Princes.

“As a player, I experienced it for years when I played for Real Madrid and Barcelona, then I experienced it as a coach at Barça and now at Paris St Germain,” head coach Enrique said ahead of side’s contest with 11th-placed Strasbourg.

“When players are in the national team, they are always very excited. That’s logical and normal, and I accept it.

“After that, it depends on the match that follows, the opponent. It can be more or less motivating.

“When you’re part of a great team, you have to be able to play even when you’re not optimally motivated.

“It’s not an easy thing to do, especially with these breaks where the first match back is a league game and the next a Champions League match, like the one against Milan, where the motivation will be high.”

PSG must revive their Champions League campaign on Wednesday after losing 4-1 at Newcastle. They beat Borussia Dortmund 2-0 at home in their opening match.

The Ligue 1 champions have stuttered domestically with a home defeat to Nice and three draws in their eight games, although PSG did win 3-1 at Rennes before the international break.

Enrique said: “It would be a mistake to think that the match against Strasbourg will be easy. It’s a much tougher match than the one against Milan.

“For Milan, I’ll have to calm the players down. Whereas on Saturday, I’m going to have to motivate them, get them excited.

“That’s why this match against Strasbourg involves a lot more problems for me, with a very young opposition, super-motivated and coached by a very good coach.

“The first thing to do after a two-week break is to get the players back into the swing of things at the club.

“It’s going to be a special week because there are three matches.”

Kylian Mbappe has not scored for PSG since converting from the penalty spot against Dortmund on September 19.

The four-game run is the longest Mbappe has gone without a goal for the club in five years.

Paris St Germain fell to their first defeat of the season as Nice stunned the Ligue 1 champions with a 3-2 win at the Parc des Princes.

Terem Moffi scored a goal in each half for the visitors with Gaetan Laborde also on the mark as Francesco Farioli’s side raced into a 3-1 lead, after Kylian Mbappe had equalised in the first half.

Mbappe struck again three minutes from time to set up a tense finish but Luis Enrique saw his team succumb to a first loss of his tenure as Nice leapfrogged them into second place in the table, a point behind leaders Monaco.

It was the worst possible start to a run of three difficult matches that sees PSG kick off their Champions League campaign at home to Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday before facing Marseille in the league next weekend.

They had been buoyed by the presence of Mbappe in the starting XI after he survived an injury scare whilst on international duty with France, but it was the striker who was at fault for Nice to take the lead in the 21st minute, giving the ball away in his own half and allowing Moffi to score with a deflected effort past Gianluigi Donnarumma on the break.

The 24-year-old made amends minutes later when Achraf Hakimi got clear down the right and cut the ball back for Mbappe to side-foot past the goalkeeper for his sixth goal in four league games and make it 1-1.

Moffi turned provider shortly after the restart as Nice regained the lead, another breakaway move seeing the striker hold the ball up well and cross for Laborde to volley home with Donnarumma stranded.

And the pair combined again as Nice went 3-1 ahead midway through the second half, Moffi playing a one-two with Laborde before making room to drill the ball into the corner despite the attentions of Milan Skriniar and Lucas Hernandez.

Mbappe set up a grandstand finish when he volleyed Randal Kolo Muani’s cross into the ground and up over the goalkeeper three minutes from the end.

But it was not enough to deny Nice a famous win at the start of Enrique’s toughest week in charge.

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