PSG v Newcastle, Getty Images January 29, 2026, 12:03 AM

One of the main posters of the final day of the main round of the UEFA Champions League according to the status of the teams could well be considered the confrontation in Paris between the local Paris Saint-Germain and the English Newcastle, to which was added quite a bit of context for both teams in the standings. Before that, the teams of Luis Enrique and Eddy Gau managed to score 13 points each, but they simply had no right to stop there – they needed a winner from their face-to-face duel, because otherwise there were enough competitors to take advantage of the potential mistakes of both teams.

And in general, the fact that the current holders of the trophy dominated their opponents on their own field did not cause surprise. The Magpies did not have time to recover as they were awarded a penalty for a handball by Miley as Barcol advanced on the left of the free-kick past Byrne and a poor rebound for the Newcastle man. However, Pope managed to solve Dembele’s shot from the mark in the right corner.

PSG did not stop there, and already in the eighth minute they pressed the desired quick ball into the opponents’ goal through the efforts of Vitinho, who was played from the right flank to the half-circle before the free kick by Kvaratzhelia, and the Portuguese shot under the near post in a much better performance than the winner of the Golden Ball before that. Next, Enrique’s team allowed themselves to create and waste chances for Dembele and Hvichy before withdrawing to their own half to rest.

But at the same time, they lost a Georgian legionnaire due to an unfortunate injury as a result of Elanga’s tackle near the center circle in the 20th minute. And it can be assumed that at this moment a completely different football began for PSG. Unspecified. Because the “magpies” allowed themselves more and more with the ball in the other half, and in the end ended the first half with a goal scored in response in a single moment. Tonali’s pass from deep to Bern on the left wing of the penalty area worked, and he already dropped it on Willock’s head closer to the goal.

The Parisians spent the second half trying to win this game after all, because at first only the guests risked losing their place in the playoffs due to a draw, and later the hosts joined them due to situations in parallel matches. It was fried, and here already Enrique’s team rushed to attack and in some places left their own goal uncovered, and if Barnes had realized his moment a few meters before them in the last minutes, then the evening for the French would have been spoiled again. Obviously, they were not happy in the end.

In the end, France’s Paris Saint-Germain and England’s Newcastle scored 14 points each and eventually finished as neighbors in 11th and 12th place respectively, so they will play in the preliminary round of the UEFA Champions League playoffs.

PSG — Newcastle 1:1
Goals: Vitinya, 8 — Willok, 45+2