Borussia Dortmund goalkeeper Gregor Kobel was very impressed with the intensity of Newcastle United’s pressing on Tyneside last night.
Newcastle were very frustrated to lose 1-0 on a night in which they did heavily pepper Kobel’s goal.
However, Kobel was arguably Dortmund’s best performer on the night, a man who seemed to be having a on a one on one duel with Anthony Gordon at times.
And despite taking the three points, Kobel did admit his side’s luck.
Speaking to Dortmund’s club site, he said: “I always try to help my team and be there when they need me.
“Towards the end, we had some luck when they hit the bar twice.
“Newcastle press extremely aggressively. It was very intense.
“We were in a bad situation after the first two games with only one point and knew it was a must-win game.
“We showed a lot of effort and a lot of heart.”
Of course Kobel’s recognition will be little consolation for Eddie Howe’s Newcastle who believed in taking all three points against Dortmund.
Instead, Newcastle will just have to prepare themselves for an historic trip to Germany in a fortnight.
Kobel thought Newcastle were pressing to the extreme against Dortmund
However, before Newcastle can set their sights on revenge, they do have three domestic ties to overcome.
First of all, a trip to Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday before they again travel to Manchester in the EFL Cup next week.
The schedule is now getting very busy for Howe’s side, and injuries to Alexander Isak and Jacob Murphy last night will be a concern.
Howe called Murphy’s shoulder injury a serious one, and said that Isak suffered a recurrence of his groin issue.
The Newcastle squad is now looking thin, and fans may be worried how many options Howe will have available when they face Kobel and Dortmund again.
Perhaps the January window now can’t come soon enough for Newcastle given all of these mounting issues.
And fans may wonder if interest in the likes of Kalvin Phillips may now be fast-tracked given all those that are missing.