Eddie Howe admitted he would probably have accepted a Champions League play-off place at the start of the season after Newcastle United's 1-1 draw at Paris St Germain left them in 12th place in the table. The result means the Magpies will face either Monaco or Qarabag in the play-offs after missing out on automatic qualification for the last 16 by one goal.
Howe said his side gave everything to try to finish in the top eight but fell short. 'We went all out to try to win the game and we chased it as much as we could without leaving ourselves with the possibility of losing,' he explained. 'We have to go another route.'
Newcastle survived an early onslaught, with goalkeeper Nick Pope saving a penalty from Ousmane Dembele before Vitinha opened the scoring. Pope praised his team's character, saying: 'Going two goals behind here is really difficult, so to keep that one out and stay in the game showed great character.'
Joe Willock headed Newcastle level in first-half stoppage time, and substitutes Anthony Gordon and Harvey Barnes almost snatched a late winner. Howe was disappointed with the penalty decision against his side but argued that PSG captain Marquinhos should have conceded one later in the match.
PSG manager Luis Enrique defended his side's performance, noting that Newcastle are not an easy team to face. 'We could have played better, yes, but after analysing the matches we've played, we're ready and we'll see which teams we will be playing against,' he said.
