In the first leg of their crucial Champions League Round of 16 match in the 2025/26 season, Barcelona rallied from a goal down to draw 1-1 with Newcastle United, thanks to a penalty converted by Yamal. Flick stated that Newcastle is a team adept at capitalizing on opponent mistakes to create threats, but he was also satisfied with Barcelona's defensive performance.

The deadlock wasn't broken until the 86th minute of the second half when Jacob Murphy dribbled past the defense and chipped the ball into the box, where Harvey Barnes fired a low shot into the net, giving Newcastle a 1-0 lead.

In stoppage time of the second half, Olmo was tripped by Malik Ghav in the penalty area, resulting in a penalty kick for Barcelona. Yamal then converted the penalty, leveling the score at 1-1 for Barcelona.

Ultimately, Barcelona held Newcastle to a 1-1 draw at St James' Park, leaving the suspense of advancing to the quarterfinals to be resolved in the second leg.

Barcelona manager Hansi Flick said, "We didn't play well when we had possession. We lost possession too many times and made a lot of mistakes, which is exactly what Newcastle United wanted. Ultimately, they are a team that is good at exploiting opponents' mistakes and creating threats through quick transitions after winning possession. But I want to commend us for defending as a whole. We performed well defensively, and I'm satisfied with that."

"It was a high-intensity game. When we had possession of the ball, the game became easier, but that didn't last long. We will accept the result, analyze it, and try to do better in the next game."

In addition, Newcastle manager Eddie Howe said, "We have shown our strength and have remained very competitive. The challenge now is that we need to maintain this level of performance. It has been proven that when we are at our best, we can compete with the best teams in the world."

“We definitely deserved more. The team performed exceptionally well overall and did a great job in every aspect. I think we were very solid defensively and contained the opponent very well, while also playing quite well offensively. Although we didn’t create a lot of outstanding chances, I think we had good opportunities to score throughout the game.”

"It's great to see the team score, but it's really hard to accept that the last attack and touch of the ball resulted in that outcome."

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