Arsenal
Aston Villa
Chelsea
Crystal Palace
Everton
Fulham
Leeds United
Liverpool
Manchester City
Manchester United
Newcastle United
Nottingham Forest
Southampton
Tottenham Hotspur
West Ham United
Wolverhampton Wanderers
News
‘This may sound unusual’: Danny Murphy loved what he noticed 28-year-old Newcastle player do before Milan tie
Danny Murphy has admitted that he absolutely loved the reaction from Jacob Murphy as the Champions League music played before Newcastle United faced AC Milan on Tuesday night.
Murphy was speaking on after the Magpies opened their Champions League campaign with a goalless draw inside San Siro.
Of course, there was a lot of anticipation ahead of the tie. Newcastle had spent two decades out of the competition. And Eddie Howe has taken the club back to European football’s top table with a number of the players who were already at St James’ Park before the Saudi takeover.
Jacob Murphy is one of those who has seen the good and bad on Tyneside. And he was named in the starting lineup against the Rossoneri.
Danny Murphy loves reaction from Jacob Murphy before Newcastle’s Champions League opener
Murphy could not hide his joy as he lined up as the Champions League music played. He was clearly trying to take everything in, which seems so understandable given how far the winger has come.
His critics may suggest that Newcastle should not simply be content with making the Champions League. But Danny Murphy insisted that he loved seeing just what it meant to his namesake.
“This may sound unusual coming from me, but it actually warmed my heart. Do you know what, I thought how good is that? Somebody who actually is delighted to be there, he’s smiling. He’s just happy,” he told .
“But it didn’t affect his performance. He was at it. Murphy was good. He was one of the better ones.”
Murphy’s second point is crucial. Jacob Murphy could have let the situation get to him. Not only was he making his Champions League debut, but he was doing it in a stadium as historic as San Siro.
However, he played well on the night. And thus, there seems to be absolutely no reason to find fault with Murphy loving every second of being there for that night. That is an occasion he will remember for the rest of his career.
Obviously, Newcastle will hope that it is the first of many famous European nights over the next few years. But that should take nothing away from the fact that Tuesday was a really significant evening in Newcastle’s recent history.