Newcastle needed that. They’ve won six of their last eight games, which might sound like an impressive run of form, but Sunday’s defeat at West Ham was wretched enough to raise all manner of doubts. Three straight Champions League wins, though, all without conceding, means they probably need only one more victory from their final four games to secure a place in the playoff round, while two wins and a draw would almost certainly secure a top-eight place and automatic passage to the last 16.
This Newcastle are a team with an extremely high ceiling and a very low floor. They are capable of hammering Union Saint-Gilloise and pummelling Benfica in the Champions League and outplaying Tottenham in the Carabao Cup. But they are also capable of losing 3-1 to West Ham and being grateful it wasn’t worse. They are both the amiable doctor and the vicious criminal, both ferociously energetic winners and lethargic disappointments, both Jekyll and Hyde. “We navigated today really well after the weekend,” said Eddie Howe. “It was important we responded mentally. Our psychology was really good. We’ve had three wins in a row, some good performances and we’re in a good position.”
The huge advantage Newcastle have in Europe is that they are bigger than most of their opponents. That has been an ongoing feature of the Champions League this season: Premier League sides have a huge physical advantage over their rivals. Compounding that was Athletic’s baffling reluctance to pick up the biggest bloke in the box every time Newcastle attacked.
