Player Ratings as Newcastle Magpies Crash out of Champions League with a 1-2 Loss to Milan

On Wednesday evening, Newcastle United suffered a 2-1 home defeat to Milan, resulting in their exit from the Champions League and European football completely.

Joelinton scored a commendable lead for Newcastle before the interval with a strong shot from within the area, while Milan had few opportunities to retaliate. However, after the break, Christian Pulisic equalised the score, and near the end, Samuel Chukwueze turned the game around entirely.

Had Newcastle won, they would have made it to the knockout stages, thanks to Paris Saint-Germain's 1-1 draw with Borussia Dortmund in another group match. Unfortunately, they also lost out the chance to play in the Europa League - as Milan took that spot.

Despite needing a win over Milan and favorable results from Dortmund against PSG, Newcastle gave a good fight.

The match started intensely at St James' Park. After 20 minutes, Joelinton shook the Milan defense by making a goal attempt, which was thwarted by Fikayo Tomori.

After a near miss from Milan's Rafael Leao, Joelinton took the pioneering goal of the match by making a powerful shot past Mike Maignan, triggering a massive celebration across the stadium.

Milan returned from halftime knowing the need for a greatly improved performance to keep their slim hopes of progressing in the tournament alive. It didn't take them long; within 10 minutes, they managed to equalise the score. A failed shot from Tomori resulted in Giroud offloading the ball to Pulisic at a close range, who then scored.

A shot from Bruno Guimaraes grazed the crossbar, but was saved by Maignan. Leao nearly turned the tide with a shot but missed marginally.

The tide officially turned when substitute Chukwueze scored a striking goal, putting Milan in the lead and leaving Newcastle with disappointment.

Despite their spirited performance, Newcastle's defeat led to their complete removal from European football. Milan secured their Europa League spot with their victory.

The individual performances were mixed. Martin Dubravka, providing solid goalkeeping could not prevent the two goals for Milan. Kieran Trippier found loopholes in Milan’s defense while Joelintion displayed notable performance for keeping the Milan defense line at bay.

Midfield player Lewis Miley gave an impressive performance along with Bruno Guimaraes who kept the overall pace of the team intact with his effortless display. On the other hand, others like Miguel Almiron who started energetically couldn't make the most out of their time on the field.

Finally, replacements like Alexander Isak and Dan Burn, given their limited time on the field, performed nominally.

The unused substitutes were: Karius (GK), Harrison (GK), Dummett, and Hall.