Newcastle United were unable to hold on to their lead against Bayer Leverkusen, but it was still a very special night for Lewis Miley.
In fairness, Newcastle did come back from a goal down to take the lead against Leverkusen in Germany, but they conceded late on once again to drop two points.
At the age of 19 years 7 months and 9 days, Lewis Miley becomes Newcastle’s youngest Champions League scorer ever! But who had the record before him?
The result leaves Newcastle in a tough spot with regards to qualifying for the next round of the Champions League away from the play-offs.
But, for Lewis Miley, the game was one he will remember for the rest of his life, after his first Champions League goal made Newcastle history.
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What Lewis Miley said after Champions League goal
In his post-match interview with BBC Sport, Miley was asked about his fine header, which made him the club’s youngest goalscorer in the Champions League.
He said: “It was a great feeling to score my first goal in the Champions League, but really disappointed to see them concede late on like that. Still, it’s a good point and we move on to Sunday now.
“I think we showed great character in the second half. We got the goal back, hit the post a couple of times.”
Discussing his goal, which came as a result of a lung-bursting run into the box, Miley explained he could see the opportunity coming and was determined to make it count.
He added: “I had one before that, which I nearly got onto. And I just thought I needed to keep getting in the box. The second one, luckily I got onto it. I was buzzing to see it hit the back of the net. That was a special feeling.
“It’s really special every game I play. I love it. Hopefully I can keep playing more in this tournament and just keep pushing on.”
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Who was your MOTM vs Bayer Leverkusen?
Eddie Howe praises Lewis Miley
We have already suspected that Lewis Miley could push for a regular spot in Newcastle’s starting XI, and Eddie Howe has now touched on that matter.
Speaking to the press after the game, Howe was asked whether Miley is close to dislodging one of the three more experienced midfielders — Joelinton, Sandro Tonali, and Bruno Guimaraes — in the Newcastle team.
He said: “He’s doing really well. That’s all you can ask for from any player when they enter the pitch, really. They give their best, they contribute, they prove how good they are, and I think he did that in his time on the pitch.
“He scored a great goal and I’m really disappointed for him that it wasn’t the match-winning goal. But he’s growing in stature, he’s mature, aerially he contributes… it was a great header, you can see his presence on the pitch, he’s imposing himself more, and he’s a very, very good player.”
Will Miley now start against Sunderland this weekend? After that performance, and the struggles of Sandro Tonali, we can’t see any other option for Howe.
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