Newcastle United's owners hope games against European opposition become a regular occurrence at St James' Park in the years to come. If the Magpies maintain their superb start to the campaign in the second half of the season, that dream will become a reality a lot sooner than anyone could have imagined.
However, for now, at least, the visit of Spanish side Rayo Vallecano to Tyneside on Saturday was nothing more than a taster, a mere friendly, albeit an important final step in Newcastle's preparations for the restart. There may not have been points or silverware on offer, but 34,956 supporters rocked up to see Newcastle defeat Rayo 2-1 in the hosts' final warm-up fixture before the campaign gets back under way next week.
Tuesday's last 16 Carabao Cup tie against Bournemouth will naturally tell us so much more, but this was still a useful exercise for Eddie Howe, who will have taken heart from not only Sean Longstaff opening the scoring after just four minutes but, also, how striker Chris Wood confidently dispatched a second-half penalty. Particularly at a time when the returning Callum Wilson's load is being managed and record signing Alexander Isak is being eased back following a troublesome thigh injury.
