JAKARTA - Newcastle United winger Harvey Barnes said Lamine Yamal's penalty that thwarted their victory in the first leg of the Champions League 16-final against Barcelona was very difficult to accept.
Newcastle United took the lead through Barnes' close-range goal in the 86th minute. The striker also had a chance to hit the post with a curved kick earlier.
The Magpies' victory was in sight and the Blaugrana were almost beaten when Malick Thiaw brought down Dani Olmo in the penalty area. Referee Marco Guida pointed to the spot and Yamal calmly beat Aaron Ramsdale amid the roar of the home fans who hoped he would miss.
His goal came in the 96th minute and the final whistle was blown immediately after his penalty kick at St. James' Park on Wednesday, March 11, 2026, early morning WIB.
It was the second-last equaliser in Champions League history, after Kylian Mbappe also denied Newcastle United victory in the 98th minute in 2023 while still with Paris Saint-Germain.
"It's hard. You score a goal and it's an amazing feeling. You can feel the roar of the fans. We played very well."
"To concede in the last minutes is very difficult to accept, but the score is even. We still have the second leg," Barnes said after the match.
Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe described his side as deserving more than a point.
"Yes, we deserved it. Very good performance from the team, very, very good in all phases. I think we limited them with a very good defensive performance from the team."
"I think we also attacked very well. Although we didn't create many golden opportunities, I think there were opportunities throughout the game for us."
"It's nice to see we finally scored and then the last attack of the game, the last kick of the game (Yamal's penalty), it's hard to accept," said Howe.
However, Howe said he believed they could make Hansi Flick's side at the Camp Nou a difficult proposition when the second leg takes place next week.
"In a calm state when we wake up tomorrow, we will see the positive side. This match is still very open, we played very well."
"We showed our quality. We are very competitive. The challenge is that we need more consistency. We have shown that we can play against the best when we are at our best," said Howe.
Barcelona - who won 2-1 at St James' Park in the first game of the group stage in September 2025 - showed flashes of their brilliance and eventually got a satisfying result.
However, they were under pressure for a long time. No wonder Hansi Flick was quite happy to come home with a draw because his team's performance was not optimal.
"If you ask me before the game with the 1-1 draw, I'm always happy. To be honest, I'm more happy with the result."
"In ball possession, we didn't play well. We lost the ball too much, made easy mistakes. It's not easy. We made too many mistakes."
"You can see it in the game. When we have the ball, everything is much easier for us. However, that is not enough. We have to play much better next week," said Manager Hansi Flick.
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