Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe left rueing mistakes as Magpies' Champions League dream ends

Newcastle United head coach Eddie Howe has admitted he does not regret chasing Champions League qualification after his side saw a Europa League place slip in their quest for a winner against AC Milan.

The Magpies had initially led through Joelinton's thunderous first-half strike but were pegged back by Christian Pulisic around the hour mark.

The 1-1 scoreline would have been enough to see the home side qualify for the Europa League, but with PSG failing to beat Borussia Dortmund, they threw caution to the wind in the search of a Champions League knockout place.

However, Newcastle were left light at the back and Milan took advantage to score through Samuel Chukwueze on the counter late on sealing the three points and snatching the Europa League spot from the Magpies' grasp.

Howe defended his players after the game as he backed his decision to chase the ultimate prize.

“We wanted to qualify for the Champions League for sure," he explained. "That was very much our intention before the game and in-game.

“I’m not sure in that moment you can take that will away from the players. If you look at the goals we’ve conceded, they’ve come from mistakes that can happen in any moment whether you are being proactive or reactive.

“Of course, I take ownership of that, but I’d much rather have the intention to go and attack and to try to win rather than the other way round.”

Newcastle went toe-to-toe with the Italian giants for much of the encounter and the result could have been very different had it not been for a wonder save from Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan, where he somehow turned a goalbound Bruno Guimarães strike onto the bar with the game still tied at 1-1.

The nature of the defeat naturally left Howe disappointed as he reflected on a game that was decided by fine margins.

“We’re desperately disappointed," he said. "It’s tough to take at the moment.

"The lads played very well in that first half and I thought we were good value.

“I was hoping the goal would come earlier than it did. Second half, we wanted to try to consolidate that and look for the second goal.

“I was really disappointed with the first goal we conceded because I think that is the key moment. We didn’t deal with a second-phase set-play well enough – it was an uncharacteristic goal, really, for us to concede and then the game became very transitional.

“It was end-to-end from both teams, both teams looking to win, and we conceded on one of those transitions.”

Newcastle return to domestic action at home to Fulham on Saturday before a trip to Chelsea on Tuesday in the League Cup.

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