Barcelona end Newcastle's European adventure
Newcastle United's Champions League adventure was finally ended on Wednesday when they were defeated 2-0 by Barcelona at St James's Park.
Newcastle United's Champions League adventure was finally ended on Wednesday when they were defeated 2-0 by Barcelona at St James's Park.
Patrick Kluivert struck the first goal when he capitalised on a dreadful error by central defender Titus Bramble in the 60th minute of their Group A game.
Thiago Motta scored Barcelona's second in the 74th minute to effectively end Newcastle's already slim hopes of qualifying for the quarter-finals.
Newcastle were unable to capitalise on a series of good chances as Barcelona, already established as the Group A winners, preserved their unbeaten record in this season's Champions League campaign with ruthless efficiency.
The result and Inter Milan's victory over Bayer Leverkusen mean Barcelona ended the second phase with 16 points followed by the Italians on 11, Newcastle on seven and the pointless Germans.
The English premier league side began the game at a furious pace but Craig Bellamy wasted three chances inside the first 20 minutes on a night when both luck and a finishing touch were missing for the Wales striker.
Bellamy was put through on goal twice by fellow striker Alan Shearer within five minutes of the start but slid his first shot just wide of Victor Valdes's far post before wildly miscuing two minutes later.
His best chance came in the 18th minute when the Barcelona defence was split wide open after Kieron Dyer cleverly won possession in midfield.
He charged forward before finding Shearer whose pass set up Bellamy seven metres out but his shot was diverted just wide by Valdes.
Newcastle consistently looked menacing in attack thanks to Bellamy's pace and Dyer's trickery but were kept at bay by the impressive Frank de Boer.
They also remained vulnerable at the back with Kluivert usually the focus of Barcelona's best work.
The Spanish side's first opening fell to Fabio Rochemback in the 17th minute. The midfielder shrugged off Olivier Bernard's challenge down the right but was badly off target with just goalkeeper Shay Given to beat.
Having taken the sting out of Newcastle's attack, Barcelona enjoyed an increasing amount of possession but rarely threatened Given's goal and Rochemback's 25-metre shot in the 27th minute was their only first-half effort on target until the goal.
Kluivert struck the decisive blow for Barcelona, punishing Bramble when he attempted to guide a through ball back to Given but badly miscontrolled on the edge of the box.
The Dutch international seized upon his error to steer the ball beneath Given.
Bellamy, who missed a total of nine chances, twice went close to equalising with a header and then a 20-metre volley that flashed just over the bar.
Kluivert received a warm ovation from Newcastle's supporters when he was substituted in the 70th minute but his withdrawal did not adversely affect Barcelona's play.
Motta doubled their lead four minutes later when he touched in a Juan Roman Riquelme free kick from six metres and an eerie silence descended on the Tyneside stadium.