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.
MARTIN ODEGAARD AND KAI HAVERTZ MISS FINAL TRAINING; CHAMPIONS LEAGUE HOPES FADING
Arsenal's Champions League hopes are in doubt as Martin Odegaard and Kai Havertz miss final training ahead of the Atletico tie.
Martin Odegaard and Kai Havertz didn’t show up for Arsenal’s open training on Monday, just a day before the crucial Champions League semi-final second leg against Atletico Madrid. Both missed Saturday’s comfortable 3-0 win over Fulham because of injuries: Odegaard with his knee and Havertz with a muscular problem.
Odegaard hurt his knee in last week’s draw with Atletico, while Havertz hasn’t played since picking up an issue against Newcastle. After beating Fulham, Mikel Arteta sounded confident they’d be ready for Atletico, but on Monday neither player was seen with the first team. That’s a big hint they won’t be involved at the Emirates.
Arteta is set to speak to the media soon, though don’t expect him to spill much; he’s known for keeping his cards close to his chest when it comes to team news.
There were a couple more missing faces at London Colney. Jurrien Timber (groin) and Mikel Merino (foot) were also absent. Timber hasn’t featured since before the international break, and it’s unclear when he’ll return, but Arsenal hope it’s before the end of the season. Merino’s been out nearly three months since foot surgery. He might not play again this month.
On the upside, Bukayo Saka was back in training after getting subbed at halftime against Fulham, where he started his first Premier League game since mid-March.
Now, Arsenal really have a headache. Odegaard, who scored 15 goals last season, just hasn’t looked the same. Staff are increasingly worried about him; he’s missed 25 games in all competitions this year, thanks to a pileup of injuries: two freak shoulder issues, two muscular injuries, and the recurring knee problem. When he’s fit, Odegaard can still make magic happen; just look at his four assists across six games in January, but right now, his body keeps letting him down.
Havertz’s story isn’t much brighter. He’s managed only 20 appearances this season, mostly because of a serious knee injury in the summer and more muscle problems afterward. He’s Arsenal’s top earner at £280,000 a week, while Odegaard sits fourth at £240,000. Having two high-paid players sidelined so often is not ideal, and Arsenal need answers.
To try to sort out this ongoing injury crisis, Arteta has reportedly brought in a trusted expert from the medical field to lead an investigation. Arsenal hope this move finally sheds some light on their troubled injury record.
DECLAN RICE ACCUSES REFEREE OF CRUMBLING UNDER PRESSURE IN MADRID PENALTY DRAMA
Arsenal head to the Emirates with a 1-1 draw, but Declan Rice is fuming over the officiating standards in the Champions League.
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Declan Rice didn’t hold back after Arsenal’s 1-1 draw in Madrid, backing Mikel Arteta’s outrage and insisting the team deserved a “clear” penalty. He even went so far as to say that Atlético Madrid’s fans pushed the referee, Danny Makkelie, into changing his mind.
Arteta was livid. Late in the first leg of the Champions League semifinal, Makkelie first pointed to the spot for Arsenal after Eberechi Eze went down. But surrounded by Diego Simeone’s wild sideline antics and the roar of 70,000 Atleti supporters, Makkelie stared at the replay 13 times, then flipped his call and waved play on.
Looking back on it, Rice couldn’t believe it. “It’s a clear penalty,” he said. “I don't know how that's not been given. I think the fans got to him and changed his mind. UEFA is just a different world. In both boxes, you have to be so careful because referees call everything.”
Arsenal ran into trouble with VAR twice. First, the ref ruled Ben White handled a Llorente volley, and Julián Álvarez buried the resulting penalty, cancelling out Viktor Gyökeres’ earlier spot-kick. Rice felt for White. Talking with Stan Sport, he said, “If that happens in the Premier League, it doesn’t get given. The ball’s hardly off the ground, and it’s not even on target. But in the Champions League, the refs make these snap calls and whistle for everything. It’s just more strict. But whatever, we move on. We want to beat them next week.”
Despite the drama, Arsenal is still in a solid spot. They’ll head back to London, hoping the home crowd can push them into their first Champions League final since 2006. Bukayo Saka, freshly back from an Achilles injury, is counting on it. “We’d have liked to win, but we’ll take the draw. It’s halftime, and we’re full of confidence going back to the Emirates,” he said. “I’m sure the atmosphere will be even bigger, and that will give us a real boost.”
Before that return leg, Arsenal face Fulham at home on Saturday. They could put more heat on Manchester City by stretching their Premier League lead, though City still has games in hand and plays Everton next. The race is on.
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