(corrects to Newcastle thought they had taken the lead again in paragraph 13)
MARSEILLE, France :Newcastle United’s three-match Champions League winning streak was halted on Tuesday as they lost 2-1 at Olympique de Marseille after Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored twice for the home side.
Harvey Barnes gave the visitors a dream start in the Stade Velodrome when he broke the deadlock from close range after five minutes with his fourth goal in his last three matches in all competitions.
Aubameyang turned the scoreline around though with two goals in four minutes shortly after the interval to give the French side their second win of the campaign.
“We didn’t start the match well. We could have done a lot better in the first 10 minutes,” Aubameyang told Canal+.
“Then we took control of the game. The coach told us to keep going, that there would be room for improvement. That proved to be true at the start of the second half.”
After three wins in a row without conceding a goal, Newcastle were looking for an unprecedented fourth successive victory in the Champions League.
Eddie Howe’s side got an early lead after Barnes scored when the ball luckily came back to him after a Sandro Tonali cross.
Two minutes earlier, Newcastle defender Malick Thiaw had come close to scoring, only for Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg to clear his header off the goal line.
Despite a string of bad passes early on, Marseille eventually took control of the match. Aubameyang squandered a series of good chances in the first half, but made amends as momentum shifted after halftime.
The Gabonese striker equalised in the 46th minute after he skipped past goalkeeper Nick Pope, who had come way out of his box, before curling the ball in from a narrow angle outside the area.
The assist was provided by the 17-year-old Darryl Bakola, who started his first professional match.
Four minutes later, Aubameyang struck again at the near post to convert Timothy Weah’s cross and stun the visitors.
Between the two goals, Newcastle thought they had taken the lead again through Barnes but it was ruled offside.
“The effort was good. The 15 minutes at the start of the second half cost us,” Newcastle manager Eddie Howe told TNT Sports.
“The goal straight after halftime changes the feeling around the stadium. It was a lapse of concentration from us.”
Newcastle, who are in eighth place with nine points, travel to Bayer Leverkusen next, while Marseille, in 19th spot on six points, visit Union Saint-Gilloise.
