This was about perseverance. While Newcastle found it impossible to produce the dynamism that tore Paris Saint-Germain to shreds, they displayed character by taking control during the second half and were poised to claim a valuable victory before West Ham rescued a point with a brilliant late equaliser from Mohammed Kudus.
In the end there was warm applause for both sides for digging deep and going the distance after draining midweek assignments in Europe. There were flaws on display, though it was hard to be overly critical. If Newcastle were running on empty after their win against PSG, it was hard to tell when they turned the game on its head after half-time. After Tomas Soucek’s opener for West Ham, they went ahead as the impressive Alexander Isak scored twice in five minutes.
