Soccer
Eddie Howe praised his Newcastle United side for taking “a big step in the right direction” after they sought to leave a difficult start to the season behind with a dominant Champions League win.
Newcastle defeated Union Saint-Gilloise 4-0 in Brussels, with a penalty double from Anthony Gordon and goals from Nick Woltemade and Harvey Barnes giving the Magpies their biggest ever victory in the competition.
It was a timely win for Howe’s side, who returned to European action off the back of a “painful” late Premier League defeat to Arsenal on Sunday.
“That was exactly what we would have wanted, especially after the Arsenal ending,” Howe told a post-match press conference.
“That was a big response from the players, because that was a painful way to lose that game.
“The players had to look deep within themselves and come out fighting again. That’s what we do best.”
The Arsenal match was Newcastle’s sixth in the Premier League this season, of which they have still won only one.
Goals have been a particular issue, but there were signs on Wednesday of confidence returning to Howe’s attackers.
Union Saint-Gilloise 0-4 Newcastle
Newcastle blew Union Saint-Gilloise away in their second UEFA Champions League game of 2025-26, winning 4-0 in Belgium to secure their first points of the league phase. pic.twitter.com/mOUysYdMJ5
— Opta Analyst (@OptaAnalyst) October 1, 2025
Woltemade has three goals in four starts and became the first Newcastle player to net on both his first Premier League start and first Champions League start for the club.
Meanwhile, Gordon, who scored in the prior defeat to Barcelona, became just the third Newcastle player to net in consecutive Champions League matches.
The England winger has three goals from four shots in Europe compared to no goals from 17 shots in domestic action, but Howe hopes all of his players will benefit from the big win ahead of Sunday’s clash with Nottingham Forest.
“Hopefully it helps us when we return to the Premier League, because we’ve been waiting for a performance like that really,” Howe said.
“We looked like we could score at any moment.
“It wasn’t a perfect performance, there’s things we could improve, but it was a big step in the right direction.
“It’s an important stage as well in the Champions League, because we have to start well. These competitions are so high, the demands are so big on us, that if we’re slow starters, we could leave ourselves too much to do.
“I certainly leave in a much healthier, positive frame of mind and looking forward to the next game.”
Union SG coach Sebastien Pocognli told UEFA: “I’m proud of my team. They fought and even at 3-0 down they didn’t give up. Newcastle were just on another level.”
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