Barcelona 7-2 Newcastle: Eddie Howe matches Gary Neville as the Magpies struggle against star-studded attack

Newcastle United have become just the second English team in history to concede seven goals in a European Cup/Champions League match.

The Magpies suffered a 7-2 defeat to Barcelona in the second leg of their last-16 Champions League fixture at Camp Nou on Wednesday night to lose 8-3 on aggregate.

Newcastle are just the second English team after Tottenham Hotspur to concede seven in a European Cup/Champions League game, with the North London outfit suffering a 7-2 defeat to Bayern Munich in October 2019.

Meanwhile, there have only been three occasions since 1955 that an English team have conceded eight or more goals on aggregate in a European Cup tie, but two have now come this season, including Chelsea's 8-2 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain.

Gary Neville had been the last Englishman to manage against Barcelona at Camp Nou, with his Valencia side suffering a 7-0 defeat in February 2016, and Howe has now joined the ex-Manchester United defender in conceding seven.

6 - Newcastle United are just the second English side to concede six goals in a European Cup/Champions League match, along with Spurs in a 7-2 defeat to Bayern Munich in October 2019. Flattened. pic.twitter.com/WtN13qcCxp
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) March 18, 2026

Howe's Newcastle conceded seven goals on tough night at Camp Nou

It was only 3-2 to Barcelona on the night at the interval of Wednesday's second leg, but Hansi Flick's side went on to score four times in the second half.

Howe told TNT Sports after the match: "Tough way to go out. It's really strange to try and sum that up because first half I thought we were excellent, albeit without defending the key moments well enough.

"In the second half, we were nowhere near as good as we were in the first and they deservedly go through [as a result]."

Meanwhile, in a separate interview with UEFA.com, Howe said: "The great disappointment was that we didn’t defend at the level we can. I’m not sure we recovered psychologically from what happened just before half-time [conceding from Lamine Yamal's penalty].

Howe takes positives from last-16 tie as a whole

"There was a dip in our performance after half-time. I don’t think we defended well enough in the build-up to their penalty. We should have been going in full of energy and enthusiasm after the first half at 2-2.

“The final scoreline isn’t reflective of how we’ve played across the tie. Or what the players and fans have experienced. The Champions League is where we want to be. Our fans were terrific tonight and there was a real bond between them and the players.”

Newcastle's full focus for the remainder of the 2025-26 campaign will now be on the Premier League.

The Magpies are currently ninth in the Premier League table, seven points behind fifth-placed Liverpool, ahead of Sunday's clash with bitter rivals Sunderland.