‘They’ve done the shirt proud’ – Newcastle battle to draw at AC Milan in first Champions League clash in 20 years

Newcastle battled to a goalless draw at AC Milan in the club's first match in the Champions League for over 20 years.

It could be a huge point for Eddie Howe's men in the 'Group of Death', which also contains Paris Saint-Germain and Borussia Dortmund, as they claimed the hard-fought draw at the San Siro.

But they didn't half ride their luck as the home side missed a series of chances, with Rafael Leao particularly guilty of lacking composure on Tuesday night.

The Magpies nearly won it in stoppage time as Sean Longstaff's fierce drive from the edge of the box was tipped over the crossbar by substitute Milan goalkeeper Marco Sportiello.

Howe and his team will happily take the draw and despite a number of hairy moments, the team's performance got the stamp of approval from former manager Alan Pardew.

«They've done the shirt proud tonight,» he said on commentary for talkSPORT.

Nick Pope had to come to Newcastle's rescue five times in quick succession after Dan Burn, one of two Geordies in Eddie Howe's starting line-up, allowed the ball to run across him, forcing Sven Botman to make a hurried clearance.

Midfielder Tommaso Pobega pounced on the loose ball to test the keeper from distance and Pope had to react swiftly to repel Samuel Chukwueze's header as the ball was recycled before denying Olivier Giroud from point-blank range with his defenders unable to keep the red and black shirts at bay.

The England international then tipped away Rade Krunic's raking drive and turned Giroud's 19th-minute header over the bar after he had been left criminally unmarked from the resulting corner.

Ruben Loftus-Cheek blazed over from long range after once again bursting through the black and white cover with Howe's men under sustained pressure