Marseille 2-1 Newcastle: Dan Byrne says the Magpies were bruised by ’10 minutes of madness’

However, it could have been very different after Newcastle initially handled the heated atmosphere well by gaining the upper hand.

The noise levels were certainly deafening before kick-off, and even referee Maurizio Mariani and the officials were subjected to loud whistles when they came out to warm up.

Flares were shot, tape flashed in the air, and a stunning tifo rose from the stands accompanied by a banner that read “For my city, for my club.”

But Newcastle was ready for that.

They traveled early, trained at the Velodrome on Monday evening, and looked to prepare a little differently on game day, “to keep the players mentally engaged and ready for this game,” Howe said.

This preparation seems to have paid off against the second team in the French League.

Instead of being intimidated by the crowd, Newcastle got off to a strong start.

They got their reward when Harvey Barnes – who notched another double against Manchester City on Sunday – fired his side ahead in the sixth minute.

But the most important thing is that Newcastle failed to consolidate its advantage and Marseille rebounded.

The visitors received enough warnings after Aubameyang wasted a series of chances in the first half.

But the well-traveled Marseille striker was less than forgiving after the break, with Newcastle paying a heavy price for a sloppy kick-off.

Defender Fabian Schar shot the ball forward and his team failed to control it after losing a series of duels in the opponent’s half.

It was very easy for Timothy Weah to take a number of players out of the game with a pass to Daryl Pakula and the 17-year-old played a through ball into the right channel in behind the Newcastle defence.

Marseille’s equalizer was not a given given how far away from goal Aubameyang was.

But goalkeeper Nick Pope rushed wide of his own line in an attempt to get there before Aubameyang, but was caught in no man’s land as the striker raced and finished superbly from a tight angle on the right wing.

Howe was keen to stress his “support” for Pope after the match, despite the poor decision, pointing out how the goalkeeper “made some really good saves against Manchester City just three days ago”.

But this was a night when his side’s weaknesses at the back and on the road reared their heads once again.