Newcastle 1-2 AC Milan: Match Report from St James' Park

Eddie Howe's side needed to win to give themselves a chance of reaching the knockout stages and looked on course at half-time thanks to Joelinton's stunner, with PSG flailing away at Borussia Dortmund. 

But second-half goals from Christian Pulisic and Samuel Chukwueze saw the Serie A giants seal the three points which takes them into the Europa League, with the Toon dropping out entirely. 

There was hope that the incredible atmosphere at St James' Park might just drag the Toon through when they were at their lowest, following successive defeats against Everton and Tottenham Hotspur. 

And the injury-hit squad almost got off to the perfect start when Joelinton squared the ball for Miguel Almiron, but the Paraguayan was show to get his shot away despite the empty net and Fikayo Tomori got back superbly to make the block. 

However, the hosts did find the opening goal on 33 minutes when an intricate passage of play released Tino Livramento on the right and his cut back was rocketed into the top corner by Joelinton for his first Champions League goal. 

Milan found the equaliser not long after half-time, as Rafael Leao's cross wasn't dealt with and it fell to Olivier Giroud, who showed all the composure in the world to find the unmarked Pulisic, and the American winger provided the finish from close range. 

Both sides hit the woodwork in search of the all-important third goal, with Mike Maignan tipping Bruno Guimaraes' superb effort onto the bar, before Leao hit the post when through one-on-one with Martin Dubravka. 

With PSG drawing at Signal Iduna Park, the Toon needed a goal and they pushed forward, but were caught on the break when Noah Okafor fed Chukwueze inside the box, and the Nigerian winger curled beautifully into the top corner. 

There was still time for Tomori to hit the woodwork again on the counter but Milan held on for the win to break Newcastle hearts and knock them out of Europe.