In the Zone: Newcastle 4-1 Paris performance analysis

UEFA Champions League football returned to St James' Park for the first time in 20 years this week – and it was a dramatic return as Newcastle United put four goals past Paris Saint-Germain.

In this article brought to you by Fedex, the UEFA Technical Observer Panel assess how Eddie Howe's side won a "game of cat and mouse" against their Group F rivals with the help of a high-energy pressing game.

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Paris look to beat press

Speaking to CBS Sports after the match Howe described this contest as "cat and mouse really between the two teams. We were trying to press them, they were trying to play through us". We will come to Newcastle's success in pressing later but it is worth noting first that the visitors had their moments too on a night they ended with 11 shots to their hosts' 12.

The video above highlights the broad principle of the French champions' approach: in Clip 1 we see how they effectively split into two units, building play with a back six – the four defenders and two holding midfielders – and trying to draw Newcastle forward to then capitalise on the space behind the press, in the middle of the pitch.

Further upfield, Luis Enrique's front four play high up against the Newcastle back four who, in this opening clip, have a one-player advantage thanks to Bruno Guimarães screening. As the sequence unfolds, Marquinhos's pass dissects Newcastle's front line, leaving space for Achraf Hakimi to run into down the right.

Clip 2 offers another example with Newcastle pressing so high that they leave their back four against the four Paris forwards – among them wingers Ousmane Dembélé and Randal Kolo Muani, staying wide and stretching the pitch.

The third example illustrates the positioning of the two Paris midfielders, Manuel Ugarte and Warren Zaïre-Emery. They support the defence in the build-up and we see how the pair split to help work the ball upfield – via Zaïre-Emery – in an attack that produces an excellent opportunity for Dembele.

Unfortunately for Paris, this was one of only two shots on target from their total of 11 attempts; Newcastle, by contrast, were on target with eight of their 12 shots. "The idea to overcome their pressure worked, Luis Enrique told TNT Sports afterwards, "but we weren't so effective in the last part of the pitch."

Brave Newcastle set the press

The focus of the second video is Newcastle's impressive pressing game. Energised by the home crowd at St James' Park, Newcastle were relentless in their pressing, forcing mistakes which led to two of their four goals. "We needed to test their defenders and the keeper under pressure," said Kieran Trippier when speaking to Canal+ afterwards, and the fruits of their front-foot approach are clear to see in these clips.

In Clip 1 we see how they shut down the passing lanes as Paris look to build from the back. Wingers Miguel Almirón and Anthony Gordon push up on the centre-backs; Alexander Isak closes space centrally; and midfielders Sean Longstaff and Sandro Tonali are ready to jump on the full-backs.

As Howe's "cat and mouse" quote reflected, there was a risk implicit in leaving a 4v4 at the back but for Newcastle it paid off, as shown in Clip 2 which shows the lead-up to the opening goal.

There are five Newcastle players pushing high up the pitch and limiting Marquinhos's options. Further back, centre-backs Jamaal Lascelles has stepped into the Paris half to cover Kolo Muani's run deep to offer an option. In the end, Bruno Guimarães blocks the chipped pass forward and Newcastle score through Almirón.

To quote the UEFA analysis unit “what Newcastle did well was to block the passing lanes and prevent passes outside to full-backs, forcing the ball inwards where they could then block again.”

Where Lascelles was pushing forward in Clip 2, in Clip 3 we see Schär do the same, following his forward – in this case Gonçalo Ramos – into the opposition half to prevent an easy out-ball. Not only does the Swiss centre-back win the ball, he then goes on to drive it into the net for the fourth goal.

Schär shines with and without ball

Newcastle had the fewest touches of any team in action on Matchday 2 (394) but, as noted by the UEFA Technical Observer Panel, they showed superb defensive organisation and the final video highlights the excellent work of one of their centre-backs, Schär.

The video begins with an example of his defending as Paris look to play Ramos in behind, the Swiss scenting the danger and intercepting. Clip 2 then shows his ability to defend the space in front as he steps up to put pressure on Ramos, forcing the loose touch and thwarting the striker's attempted lay-off. For the record, Schär ended the match with ten ball recoveries – a total only bettered in Wednesday's match by Bruno Guimarães, whose total of 14 was the highest of any player on Matchday 2.

Finally, to return to the video, it ends with an example of Schär's ability on the ball as Clip 3 shows him feed Almirón in the lead-up to the third goal, scored by Longstaff.

Coaches' assessments

Eddie Howe, Newcastle manager: "We had to try to unbalance them, we had to try to make it difficult for them to build from the back. We knew they would as that is their style, that is the philosophy of a brilliant manager, and we had to try to unsettle them and our crowd helped us to do that. We delivered a really good pressing performance. We were man-for-man at the back against elite players but for me that is our best way, especially here. That is our best way to be successful and the players deserve a lot of credit for how they implemented that."

Luis Enrique, Paris coach: "We managed to get through their pressure a lot of times, much more than their opponents usually do. It's true that in the final third we could improve – we didn't really hurt Newcastle. We made some mistakes, especially in some of the actions for the goals, and at this level you pay the price."