November 29, (THEWILL) – Kylian Mbappe scored a controversial late penalty to salvage a 1-1 draw for Paris Saint-Germain against Newcastle United in their UEFA Champions League Group F clash on Tuesday night.
Eddie Howe’s side looked set for a famous victory at the Parc des Princes after Alexander Isak gave them a 24th minute lead. However, in the 96th minute, the referee awarded PSG a penalty for handball against Tino Livramento and Mbappe stepped up to equalise.
Newcastle had dominated much of the second half and frustrated the hosts with some dogged defending. Goalkeeper Nick Pope was in inspired form, making several saves to deny Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele and substitute Bradley Barcola. Howe’s injury-hit squad put in a tireless performance against the star-studded PSG unit. Miguel Almiron and Anthony Gordon were threats on the counter-attack, while midfielders Bruno Guimaraes and left back Livramento shone for the visitors.
Just when it looked like the Magpies would hold on, the late penalty controversy denied them a famous win. Still, Newcastle have a chance of reaching the last 16. They will qualify if they beat AC Milan at St James’ Park in their final group game next week and PSG fail to win at Borussia Dortmund.
However, their fate is now out of their own hands after coming so close to a famous win in Paris. Victory would have perfectly set them up heading into their crucial match against the Serie A side AC Milan next week.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
