The Manchester City photo that will have Newcastle fans dreaming of Champions League return

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Newcastle United haven’t played in the Champions League since 2003.

Their last appearance in Europe’s elite competition was a qualifier, losing a penalty shootout to Partizan Belgrade.

But with new owners boasting lofty ambitions, there is hope that the Magpies can return to the best tournament in the world in the near future.

How soon that is remains to be seen. There is immense competition in the Premier League just to qualify for the Champions League. There’s no longer a ‘big four’ – it’s a ‘big six‘. Then you’ve got other sides who have flirted with breaking into the top four such as Leicester and West Ham.

Newcastle’s owners will want to be challenging soon. They’ve certainly got the players for it, with Kieran Trippier and Bruno Guimaraes arriving in January.

And a photo from Manchester City’s semi-final with Real Madrid will make Toon fans all the more desperate to see Champions League nights back at St James’ Park.

Would Newcastle fans take photos of a Champions League goal against them?

Man City beat Real Madrid 4-3 on Tuesday night, giving them a one goal lead heading into next week’s second leg. However, it could have been a bigger lead had it not been for Karim Benzema.

The Madrid skipper showed incredible bottle in the 82nd minute, dinking a penalty down the middle to halve the defecit.

The French forward ran off to celebrate in front of the City fans, but was met with cameras flashing rather than fury. In the picture below, you can see an incredible number of supporters trying to grab a snap of the goalscorer.

Would you get this at St James’ Park? This is a Champions League semi-final for goodness sake, not Soccer Aid.

Ever since the takeover last year, we’ve seen incredible atmosphere after incredible atmosphere inside SJP. It has become a fortress once again, with Wor Flags playing an important role.

The noise has been incredible. Just imagine what it would be like if European nights returned.

If Benzema had scored that goal at St James’ Park, you can guarantee there wouldn’t be a single Toon fan trying to take a photo of his celebrations.