Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe has urged his squad to maintain their belief as they navigate a challenging Champions League campaign, despite a late equalizer against Bayer Leverkusen. The Magpies, who currently sit 12th in the table, fought to a 2-2 draw at the BayArena on Wednesday evening, a result that leaves them with 10 points in the competition.
Newcastle took the lead twice during the match, first through an Anthony Gordon goal that canceled out an own goal from Bruno Guimaraes, and later via a strike from 19-year-old Lewis Miley. However, Alejandro Grimaldo's 88th-minute goal denied Newcastle the victory and a potential climb to sixth place in the standings.
Speaking after the game, Howe acknowledged the disappointment of conceding a late goal but expressed confidence in his team's ability to progress to the knockout stage. Newcastle face tough upcoming matches against PSV Eindhoven at St James' Park and Paris St-Germain away. "We have to believe," Howe stated at the post-match press conference. "When we started the Champions League campaign, if we thought it was going to be easy, I think we're in the wrong competition".
Howe recognized the difficulty of the schedule, but he praised the players for navigating it well. "You're playing very, very good teams, we're travelling, the game schedule we've got – all these things you add together makes it a challenging period for us, but I think the players are navigating it really well. We are playing with a clear identity and a plan". He also noted an improvement in the team's performances since before the international break. "Before the international break, I was disappointed with a couple of the performances, so I think we've come back strong in that respect".
Howe stressed the need for the team to prove themselves in the remaining games. "We have it all to prove. The two games we have are very difficult games, but I believe in the group. Wherever we go if we're near our best, we can win".
Despite the setback, Howe remains optimistic about the direction of the team. "We're a team that's hopefully building in the right direction," he said. He also acknowledged the challenges faced during the summer, which impacted early performances. "We had a difficult summer – you saw that in some of our early performances. I think the last six have been a lot better".
