It wasn’t always pretty last night, but we battled until the very end against AC Milan and return to Tyneside with a very good point.
Nick Pope stole many of the headlines with eight clean sheets and a heroic clean sheet, while Kieran Trippier put in a captains display, showing his incredible football IQ and several moments of class to contain Rafael Leao and Theo Hernandez.
However, there were to unsung heroes within our ranks at the San Siro, for me. Dan Burn and Sean Longstaff; two local lads who both made their UEFA Champions League debuts.
There’s no denying that Burn showed his limitations on the ball, with one of his passes out to Gordon flying out of play. He had a few ropy moments, yet his defensive contribution was massive.
I counted at least three huge headed clearances in that second half and some massive blocks. Did he struggle on the ball? Yes. Did he offer anything offensively? No. But the criticism I saw him receiving on social media for a few misplaced passes baffled me considering the key role he played at the other end.
As for Sean Longstaff, he too had the odd lapse in possession which again drew groans as I scanned on social media. However, he covered so much ground down our right-hand side, supporting Trippier as Leao and Hernandez broke forward, but also drawing fouls at the other end to relieve some pressure on our defence. Not only that, he was the one Mag who came close to scoring, with his 96th minute effort tipped over at the death.
He does so much dirty work, has two pairs of lungs and never stops running. The latter should be the minimum requirement at this level, but it’s no coincidence that we’ve kept back-to-back clean sheets and looked far more solid in the two games he’s started so far.
A memorable night for both and a point that gives us something to build on; even if we must be better on the ball ahead of upcoming games against Sheffield United, Man City, Burnley and PSG.
