Newcastle United were left wondering ‘what if’ after a Barcelona star linked with a move to Tyneside put in a memorable performance at St James’ Park.
There is no doubt that fans would love to sign some of the world-class Barcelona players who graced the St James’ Park turf on Thursday evening.
The Champions League returned to Tyneside last night, with Newcastle United welcoming Spanish giants Barcelona in what was an exciting game for several reasons. Fans were hoping for a repeat of Newcastle’s memorable win against Barcelona in 1997, where Tino Asprilla scored a hat-trick. Sadly, that would not be the case, as Eddie Howe’s side were no match for Hansi Flick’s Barcelona.
Anthony Gordon praised Pedri and Frenkie de Jong post-match. Their performances left fans in awe, wondering if Newcastle will ever have players matching their quality. Elsewhere, UEFA praised Marcus Rashford for his performance. The Manchester United loanee scored a brace on his return to England, showing Ruben Amorim what he was missing out on.
In the midst of everything, fans may have forgotten about goalkeeper Joan Garcia’s performance. While insignificant to some, fans may remember transfer links for the player in the early stages of the summer transfer window.
Joan Garcia shows Newcastle United what they missed out on with a brilliant Barcelona performance
Last season, Garcia just scraped survival with Espanyol, and now the shot-stopper is starting in the Champions League against Barcelona.
The 24-year-old completed the move to Barca during the summer transfer window, but he was also on the Magpies’ radar before making the move.
Reports stated that Newcastle were interested in Garcia, who had a £21m release clause in his contract. When asked about the transfer links in the summer, Garcia said he was ‘calm’ and did not disclose much other than he was waiting for an offer.
| Statistics vs Newcastle United | Joan Garcia |
| Minutes | 90 |
| Saves | 5 |
| Accurate passes | 21/29 (72%) |
| Recoveries | 16 |
| Goals prevented | 1.30 |
In the end, Barcelona did enough to lure him away from Espanyol, and it looks like the right decision based on his performance on Thursday night. Garcia was brilliant in a hostile environment where other goalkeepers may have capitulated.
Garcia kept things calm and only conceded just before added time in the second half. Newcastle signed Aaron Ramsdale in the summer, but Garcia has proven to be one who got away after his masterclass.
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Nick Pope has stepped up since the arrival of Aaron Ramsdale at Newcastle United
Ramsdale is yet to make a competitive appearance for Newcastle since joining on loan in July; that is mainly due to Nick Pope’s brilliant start to the season between the sticks.
The 33-year-old has kept an impressive three clean sheets in his first four Premier League appearances, and gave a good account of himself against Barcelona, where he made three saves.
Pope appears to have found a new lease of life in Tyneside after a shaky 2024/25 campaign, where he had to fight to regain his place in the starting XI after Martin Dubravka hit great form while he was out injured.
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The start of the season has shown that Pope is still one of the best goalkeepers in the Premier League, and has clearly gone through some personal growth to keep his morale high and his form up.
All the talk of a new goalkeeper joining the club was surely not helpful for Pope throughout the summer, but he has not let anything affect him negatively, and he is still the rightful first choice on Tyneside.
Ramsdale should soon get his chance for Newcastle, with multiple games on the horizon in the next couple of weeks, so there should be time to rotate.
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