After a slow start, the club began putting together the wins and, by the end of March, were in a three-way title race with Manchester United and Arsenal.

In the first group stage, Newcastle lost their first three matches in a row, then, in an astonishing reversal, shocked Italian giants Juventus 1–0 at St James' Park.

With Dynamo Kyiv losing at home to Juventus, Newcastle progressed to the second round,[4] in a 'group of death' with Internazionale, Barcelona and Bayer Leverkusen.

[5] Compounding the disaster for Newcastle was the suspension of influential captain Alan Shearer for a similar incident, although the punishment was just a two-match ban.

[8] Despite a superb performance against Inter in the famous San Siro, only to draw 2–2, Newcastle lost at home 2–0 to Barcelona and dropped out of the Champions League.