The Toon Army were dreaming of a place in the knockout stages as Joelinton’s 33rd-minute thunderbolt put them ahead, while Borussia Dortmund led against Paris St-Germain in Germany.

It was a result that would have propelled Newcastle through based on head-to-head results against PSG, but the mood changed in a couple of minutes shortly before the hour.

Warren Zaire-Emery, a teenager, equalised for the French champions in Germany, but former Chelsea forward Christian Pulisic equalised for Milan.

Milan keeper Mike Maignan performed wonderfully to turn Bruno Guimaraes’ shot on to the woodwork as both sides battled for a winner in an open encounter, before Rafael Leao raced clear for the Italians, only to strike against the foot of the post.

Six minutes from time, Milan scored brutally on the counter-attack, with replacement Samuel Chukwueze blasting a fantastic goal high past Martin Dubravka.

It left manager Eddie Howe and his players distraught after a hard-fought return to the Champions League that finished with them bottom of Group F and without even the consolation of a spot in the Europa League.

‘Naivety and injuries put an end to Newcastle’s extravagant ambitions.’
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Newcastle were on course for the final 16 of the Champions League when the half-time whistle rang, but when a spectacular second half concluded, they were out of Europe entirely.

It summed up the night’s fortunes, which were divided between what was happening at St James’ Park and developments in Germany, which were eagerly studied to determine what impact they had on Newcastle’s fate.