Howe praises Newcastle ‘heart’ – but it only takes them so far

Woltemade had scored what proved to be decisive goal in the 1-0 win against Wolves at the weekend before coming off with cramp on his debut.

So, with striker Yoane Wissa sidelined with a knee injury, Gordon got the nod to lead the line.

And Howe refused to dwell on his decision not to start the towering Woltemade on Thursday night.

“I can’t live in that world,” he said. “I have to make decisions for the benefit of the players sometimes.

“It was a really difficult one for Nick. Any player would want to start the game, but I have got to try and manage him into the team and try and make sure he stays fit. That was always at the heart of this decision.”

Howe, as a result, recalled Gordon, who is currently serving a three-match domestic ban.

The rapid Anthony Elanga also came into the side in place of Jacob Murphy, who is nursing an Achilles issue, in a bid to try and exploit the space behind Barcelona’s high line.

Elanga and Gordon very nearly linked up in the opening stages.

However, Gordon could not connect with Elanga’s pullback before Harvey Barnes saw a curling effort comfortably saved by goalkeeper Joan Garcia just a few minutes later.

Barnes then had a huge opportunity to open the scoring midway through the first half after the lively Elanga slid the ball across to the back post but the forward could only fire straight at Garcia.

It brought back memories of the opening weeks of the season, when Newcastle fired blanks against Aston Villa and Leeds United.

No wonder Howe had his hands on his head on the touchline at one point.

In a game like this, Newcastle had to be ruthless in front of goal – just as they were in a 4-1 win against PSG a couple of a years ago.

To prosper in this competition, they are going to have to be clinical.

Starting with the trip to Brussels to face Union Saint-Gilloise next month.

“There was no lacking in terms of heart and courage,” Howe said. “We can be critical of a couple of things we could have done better but, ultimately, we will analyse it, try and improve and try and grow from this experience.”