YOANE WISSA MARKS FIRST CHAMPIONS LEAGUE START WITH GOAL IN 3-0 WIN
Newcastle United secure a Champions League play-off berth after a 3-0 win over PSV, featuring Yoane Wissa's first UCL goal.
Yoane Wissa picked the perfect moment for his first Champions League goal, putting Newcastle ahead in his very first start as they cruised to a 3-0 win over PSV Eindhoven. With that, Newcastle locked in at least a play-off spot and kept their hopes alive for automatic qualification. Not bad for a freezing night on Tyneside.
Wissa, Anthony Gordon, and Harvey Barnes all took advantage of PSV’s mistakes. Newcastle made it look pretty comfortable by the end, even though the match itself was anything but a classic. The crowd of over 52,000 didn’t seem to mind—Eddie Howe’s team did exactly what they needed to do, jumping to seventh in the table and setting up a big trip to Paris to face PSG next week.
PSV came in hot, having lost just once in their last 21 games, and started on the brighter side. But Newcastle struck first. Gordon fired over early, then just minutes in, PSV’s keeper Matej Kovar scuffed a clearance. Bruno Guimaraes pounced, fed Joelinton, and he unselfishly squared it for Wissa, who finished coolly. The celebrations had to wait as VAR checked for offside, but the goal stood.
PSV kept pushing, especially with Newcastle losing the ball far too often—Guimaraes, their captain, was guilty more than once. Still, Newcastle doubled their lead on the half-hour. Gasiorowski, whose earlier back-pass had already caused problems, got caught on the ball again by Wissa. The loose ball rolled to Gordon, who tucked away his sixth goal of the tournament.
Newcastle never really got control. They kept giving the ball away, but PSV just couldn’t turn their pressure into clear chances. It took until stoppage time for Paul Wanner to force a save from Nick Pope.
After the break, not much changed. PSV saw plenty of the ball but didn’t do much with it. Newcastle sat deep, waiting for their chances to break. Gordon and Wissa both had moments where they could’ve set up Barnes, but didn’t quite manage it.
Barnes wasn’t going to miss out, though. When PSV captain Jerdy Schouten misjudged a long clearance from Pope, Barnes raced through and smashed home his 12th of the season. That pretty much finished things off.
Wissa nearly got another from a Barnes cross, and Nick Woltemade forced a save late on, but Newcastle looked more likely to score again than concede as the clock wound down.
LEAGUE UPDATE: MAN UNITED’S CHAMPIONS LEAGUE HOPES BOOSTED BY COEFFICIENT POINTS SURGE
Manchester United move into fourth place as England's dominant UEFA coefficient makes a fifth Champions League spot almost certain.
Manchester United just got a real shot in the arm for their Champions League hopes this season. After knocking off Manchester City and Arsenal in back-to-back games, they’ve climbed into fourth place in the Premier League. It’s been a struggle for United to make the Champions League in recent years—their last run was in the 2023/24 season.
These days, finishing in the top four isn’t always enough for Premier League teams. UEFA now hands out extra spots, and it all depends on how clubs from each country perform across the Champions League, Europa League, and Conference League.
So, how does it work? UEFA takes each league’s overall coefficient score—basically, a measure of how well their teams do in Europe—and divides it by the number of clubs they have in these competitions.
This season, Arsenal, Liverpool, Tottenham, Chelsea, Manchester City, and Newcastle all joined the European fight. Out of those six, only Newcastle had to go through the play-offs; the rest sailed straight into the knockouts.
Now that the Champions League group stage is done, you can really see which countries are in line for those bonus spots next year. Right now, England is out in front with 180,625 points. Germany follows with 107,000. Portugal sits in third with 14,700, and Spain is just behind on 14,375.
Here’s the key thing: the two countries whose teams rack up the best results across all three competitions this season each get a European Performance Spot—an extra Champions League place.
With England leading the pack, even a fifth-place finish in the Premier League could send United back into the Champions League instead of the Europa League. Newcastle took advantage of this last season.
If United hold onto fourth, they’re in. But there’s still a lot of football left. Interim boss Michael Carrick isn’t letting anyone get ahead of themselves—he’s already told his players to stay sharp.
Next up, United face Fulham at Old Trafford. They'll be chasing a third straight win and looking to keep Carrick’s perfect record going since he stepped in for Darren Fletcher.
JUST IN: PEP GUARDIOLA THANKS JOSE MOURINHO AFTER WILD NIGHT OF EUROPEAN DRAMA
Pep Guardiola thanks Jose Mourinho as Benfica’s last-gasp winner against Real Madrid sends City straight into the Last-16.
Pep Guardiola had a smile on his face and a message for Jose Mourinho after his old rival did him a huge favour, helping Manchester City sneak into the Champions League knockout rounds.
City took care of their own business, beating Galatasaray 2-0 at the Etihad. Haaland and Cherki got the goals, but the real drama was happening elsewhere. City’s spot in the last eight still hung in the balance because Real Madrid needed to equalise against Benfica. If they had, Guardiola’s squad would have been bumped into the play-offs instead.
That’s when Benfica’s goalkeeper, Anatoliy Trubin, pulled off something wild. He left his box, charged forward for a late free kick, and scored a brilliant goal. Benfica won 4-2. That goal kept Benfica alive in the competition—and, as it turned out, saved City too.
Guardiola admitted he and his players were glued to the screen in the dressing room, completely confused when they saw Trubin running up for that last free kick. “We were all in there, watching, and none of us realised Benfica still needed a goal to qualify,” Guardiola said. “So when their keeper went up, we’re all thinking, ‘What are you doing?’ But Jose knew. It was a smart move. Finishing in the top eight, with how tough the Champions League has become, feels really good for us. Now we can focus on being at our best by March.”
Bernardo Silva didn’t hide how relieved he felt. Skipping those extra play-off games really matters, especially when you’re chasing a quadruple. “A bit of drama, but we did it. We’re very happy because we avoid two more matches,” he said. “With all the injuries we’ve got and the crazy schedule, having those two weeks free to rest, get players back, and focus on the other competitions is huge for us.”
As for Mourinho, he looked proud after Benfica’s wild finish. He’s won this tournament twice before, and he believed his side deserved to stay in. “That was a fantastic goal, a historic moment—almost blew the roof off the stadium,” Mourinho said. “Honestly, for Benfica to beat Real Madrid, that’s massive.”