Newcastle United returned to action in the Champions League on Wednesday evening, however, Eddie Howe’s side suffered their first defeat in this season’s tournament to Borussia Dortmund.

The Bundesliga outfit lifted themselves from the bottom of the table by sealing a well-fought 1-0 win at St James’ Park, seeing the hosts pulled back to reality after their historic victory over Paris Saint-Germain in the previous group fixture.

Dortmund arrived in the North East having claimed just one point from their opening two group stage games, with a win integral for Edin Terzic to take back to Germany.

Newcastle failed to overcome the Borussia Dortmund test

Despite missing out on the three points, Howe’s side pushed Dortmund throughout the 90 minutes, as highlighted by the Magpies dominating 60% of possession and recording 12 shots on goal, via Sofascore.

That being said, the Magpies fell short against Terzic’s well-organised side in the final third, where the visitors had the upper hand, registering 13 shots on goal and 1.79 expected goals (xG) to Newcastle’s 1.27 xG.

It was a fast start to the affair in the torrential conditions at St James’ Park, setting the tone for the challenge ahead of the hosts as Dortmund showed little fear of Howe’s fast-pressing side.

The deadlock was broken moments prior to the interval, with a goal that was decisive to the result as Felix Nmecha expertly tucked the ball into Nick Pope’s net after a deadly move from the visitors.

Newcastle had plenty of chances to equalise, not many coming as close as the Geordies hitting the crossbar in the dying seconds, however, it was simply not their night.

It was an all-around lacklustre performance by the hosts, with the midfield battle not won by those in black and white, as the trio of Bruno Guimaraes, Sean Longstaff and Joelinton looked withered.

After his heroics against PSG, Longstaff seemed to have lost his spark against Dortmund, reinforced by him receiving an inadequate match rating of four from the Independent’s Jamie Braidwood.

Braidwood described the Englishman as lacking sharpness in possession and a figure that 'struggled to match' the opposition, portrayed through his 67% pass completion rate and one ground duel won, via Sofascore.

The stats on why Joelinton struggled against Borussia Dortmund

Longstaff wasn’t the only poor performer in the engine room for Newcastle, as Braidwood also dealt Joelinton a low score, giving him a match rating of five and declaring that he 'struggled' and was 'exposed' during Nmecha’s goal.

The Brazilian was out of position and failed to track the runners from midfield for the decisive goal, and looked far off the pace after recently returning from injury.

As per Sofascore, the 27-year-old failed to complete any crosses he attempted, and won just two out of his total duels on the night, with his lack of defensive presence also marked by his zero aerial wins.

After losing possession eight times and giving away two fouls, Joelinton was hooked in the 65th minute by Howe, with him described as being “not at his best” by journalist Firzie Idris.

The former Hoffenheim man lacked the usual conviction that he brings to a game, suggestive of his lack of recent game time and continual hunt for full fitness, which ultimately saw him have little impact in the important fixture.

It was a disappointing night for Newcastle after highs of the PSG victory, however, it’s still all to play for in Group F, with a huge hill for the Geordies to climb to ensure their progression to the knockouts.