Harvey Barnes admitted Newcastle United’s late draw with Barcelona in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie was “a tough one to take”.
Newcastle had been on top in their 1-1 draw with Barcelona at St. James’ Park and took the lead in the 86th minute through Barnes’ scuffed finish.
However, Malick Thiaw clumsily fouled Dani Olmo deep in second-half stoppage time, and Lamine Yamal converted the resulting penalty with the last kick of the game to ensure the tie remained finely poised for the second leg next week.
Only Kylian Mbappe (14), Anthony Gordon (12) and Julian Alvarez (10) have been directly involved in more goals than Barnes (nine – six goals, three assists), and the goalscorer was disappointed not to be taking a lead to Camp Nou.
“It is a bit of a strange feeling, we are only halfway through the tie, we played really well, kept their dangerous players quiet,” Barnes told TNT Sports.
“We got ahead with a good goal, but the way it ended is a tough one to take, but we have to remember it is only halfway through the tie.
“We played really well in the game. We were on top for a lot of it.
“It will be a different sort of game at their place, but we know what we can do, and we know when we are at our level, how well we can play.
“What a feeling it would have been to go there 1-0 up, but we are level in the tie and all to play for. It is one game, away from home, where we can show what we can do.
“It will be an exciting game for us.”
Newcastle extended their longest-ever unbeaten run in the Champions League to six games (W3 D3) and have only lost one of their last 10 matches in the competition (W6 D3).
The Magpies had 16 shots, also hitting the woodwork through Barnes and having a Joelinton goal disallowed for offside, in a dominant performance.
“I thought we were outstanding, a really, really good performance,” Eddie Howe told TNT Sports.
“We kept the intensity up. The moment at the end takes that in a negative light, but one of our best performances.”
On the penalty, he added: “I think it is soft, but Malick makes contact.
“We had our shape, there’s no way we should concede that goal. We will look at it, but I don’t want it to override the 93 minutes before that, in which we were quality.
“I thought we had enough to score before we did. The game showed we are capable, but we know we probably have to give more going to their stadium. We are capable of doing it, but we will need to be at our very best.
“Our strength of character should never be in doubt. We will be ready by the time the next game comes round. We believe in ourselves and our capability.”