NEWCASTLE, England, Jan 21 (Reuters) - Yoane Wissa scored his first Champions League goal as Newcastle United eased to a 3-0 home win over PSV Eindhoven at St James’ Park on Wednesday to seal their place in the knockout stages of the competition for the first time.
Newcastle move up to seventh in the table with 13 points from their seven games and on course for automatic qualification for the last 16. PSV are in 22nd place with eight points and work to do to advance to the knockout stages.
The top eight teams in the table automatically advance to the last-16, while the sides positioned 9th to 24th enter a playoff round to determine the other eight qualifiers.
PSV’s hesitancy at the back handed Newcastle two goals before halftime, the first converted by Wissa on eight minutes before Anthony Gordon was the beneficiary from another error by the visitors to make it 2-0 on the half-hour mark.
Newcastle suffered a blow when captain Bruno Guimaraes limped off just before the break with an ankle injury, but they added a third goal on 65 minutes via Harvey Barnes in a dominant display against the Dutch champions.
While clinical in front of goal, another clean sheet for Newcastle means only table-topping Arsenal (2) have conceded fewer than their six goals in the competition, a campaign built on defence as much as forward prowess.
PSV SECOND BEST
PSV had come into the game having lost only one of their previous 21 games in all competitions, but were a distant second best on the night.
Newcastle’s early pressure paid dividends as PSV goalkeeper Matej Kovar’s clearance was poor and collected by Guimaraes, who played in Joelinton. The latter squared the ball for Wissa to provide the finish from 12 yards.
Newcastle doubled their advantage from another PSV error. Centre-back Yarek Gasiorowski’s weak back-pass to Kovar was short and allowed Wissa to steal in and steer the ball to an unmarked Gordon, who had the simplest of tap-ins.
The home side continued to dominate possession in the second half and scored a third when Barnes burst into the box and steamed past Gasiorowski before finishing low into the far corner of the net.
PSV face Bayern Munich in their final league phase match on Tuesday and will likely need at least a point to reach the knockout rounds. Newcastle go to Paris Saint-Germain.
(Reporting by Nick Said; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)
