Barcelona player ratings vs Newcastle: Last-gasp Lamine Yamal penalty rescues misfiring Blaugrana and secures undeserved Champions League draw

Lamine Yamal Barcelona HIC

Lamine Yamal kept his cool to convert a penalty with the last kick of the game to earn Barcelona an undeserved 1-1 draw with Newcastle in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie at St. James' Park on Tuesday. The Blaugrana's teenage sensation had, just like the rest of his team-mates, performed poorly on Tyneside and could have had no complaints had another winger, Harvey Barnes, proven the match-winner.

However, with the four minutes of allotted injury time already up and the home fans still celebrating Barnes' back-post finish from Jacob Murphy's cross, Malick Thiaw fouled Dani Olmo in the area, allowing Yamal to bail the Blaugrana out of jail by sending Aaron Ramsdale the wrong way from the penalty spot.

The final scoreline flattered the visitors, and particularly their misfiring forward line, but the Catalans obviously didn't care in the slightest, as they now only need a victory of any variety at Camp Nou next week to progress to the quarter-finals.

GOAL rates all of the Barcelona players on show at St. James' Park...

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Goalkeeper & Defence

Joan Garcia (5/10):

Showed off his impressive shot-stopping skills with an excellent save from Elanga, but he should have done so much better with Barnes' breakthrough goal, while he also looked unsteady under high balls.

Ronald Araujo (5/10):

Surprisingly selected on the right-hand side of the back four amid Barca's injury issues at full-back and did a decent job keeping Barnes relatively quiet until going AWOL late on.

Pau Cubarsi (6/10):

It doesn't seem to matter who plays alongside the 19-year-old, he does well no matter what. Another impressively composed performance from Cubarsi - and in a physical encounter in a hostile arena.

Gerard Martin (6/10):

Good night's work at centre-back from the left-back, who made plenty of clearances and was strong in the air.

Joao Cancelo (4/10):

Didn't offer much going forward - which is unusual for him - and it was no surprise that the cross for Barnes' goal came down his side.

Newcastle United FC v FC Barcelona - UEFA Champions League 2025/26 Round of 16 First Leg

Midfield

Marc Bernal (5/10):

Has been in good goal-scoring form of late, but while he put in plenty of work in front of the back four, he didn't really exert any great influence over their proceedings. Would be wrong to be too harsh on him, though - he's still only 18.

Pedri (4/10):

Not a particularly impressive performance from arguably Barcelona's most important player. He won plenty of duels and saw a fair bit of the ball but failed to fashion any openings for his team-mates, while also struggling to get a real grip on the game. Subbed with 20 minutes to go.

Fermin Lopez (5/10):

His work-rate is seriously impressive, making it easy to understand why Flick started him in such a game, but despite creating a couple of chances in the first half, and calling Ramsdale into action, he was much less menacing after the break.

Newcastle United FC v FC Barcelona - UEFA Champions League 2025/26 Round of 16 First Leg

Attack

Lamine Yamal (5/10):

Those who turned up at St. James' Park hoping to see flashes of genius from the teenager would have left disappointed. Yamal was pretty much marked out of the game by Hall, but he still had the final say thanks to Thiaw's trip on Olmo. Credit where it's due, though, for a very composed spot-kick.

Robert Lewandowski (3/10):

A tough performance to watch from one of the finest centre-forwards of all time. Lewandowski looked off the pace all evening, and also occasionally muscled off the ball. Got one big chance in the second half but unsurprisingly squandered it.

Raphinha (4/10):

An unusually quiet evening for the Brazilian, who only created one proper chance, for Lewandowski. Truth be told, it was something of a surprise that he stayed on the field for the entire 90 minutes and Flick will probably wish he'd have taken Raphinha off, given he lost Barnes for the game's opening goal.

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Subs & Manager

Marcus Rashford (5/10):

A long-overdue introduction for Lewandowski but didn't have sufficient time to replicate his league-phase heroics at St. James' Park. Will now be pushing to start the return clash at Camp Nou.

Dani Olmo (5/10):

Came on in place of the disappointing Pedri and won the penalty with which Barca nicked a draw with some neat footwork in the area.

Marc Casado (N/A):

A like-for-like replacement for Bernal, who picked up a knock shortly before his withdrawal with 15 minutes left.

Ferran Torres (N/A):

Only thrown on after Newcastle's goal for Fermin.

Xavi Espart (N/A):

Replaced Araujo in the closing stages.

Hansi Flick (4/10):

His selections were obviously influenced by injuries but the make-up of his back four was bizarre - and ultimately exposed on the Newcastle goal. Flick also took far too long to take off Lewandowski, while Raphinha had been a passenger all evening. All things considered, then, the Barca coach was blessed to have come out of this game with a 1-1 draw.