Newcastle United shows that they are connected to it Champions Leaguemanager Eddie Howe said after their 1-1 draw with the holders Paris Saint-GermainTheir boss Luis Enrique admitted they must improve.

PSG were heavy favorites to win at the Parc des Princes and claim a place in the top-eight of the league stage table, which brings with it automatic progression to the last 16.

But instead, both they and Newcastle will face off in a two-legged tie in the play-off round after the Magpies showed hugely impressive resilience to claim the points.

PSG were awarded a highly controversial penalty from their first attack when Lewis Milli was adjudged to have been deliberately handled in the area despite the ball initially deflecting off the hands of Bradley Barkola.

Nick Pope stepped up to Newcastle’s defense as he saved from Ousmane Dembele, but Vitinha put PSG ahead with a trademark strike from the edge of the area.

However, even with captain Bruno Guimaraes on the bench as he recovers from an ankle injury, a Newcastle side that started without Champions League talismans Anthony Gordon and Harvey Barnes fought back admirably and Joe Willock gave them the nod in first-half stoppage time.

Gordon and Barnes came on in the second half and the latter had two glorious chances to win it late on, but Newcastle had to settle for a draw that meant they and PSG joined as seeds in the play-off round. They will face either Monaco or Qarabag in the playoff round.

Howe: Newcastle are at this level

Howe, however, was duly impressed with his side’s performance.

“I think we’re showing (we are),” Howe said. “We’ve been happy with what we’ve delivered. A bit disappointed that we didn’t get over the line in a few games. But this is a real acid test for us, coming here against the holders of the competition. I thought we did really well.

“We tried everything to win the game. We chased it as hard as we could without leaving the possibility of losing. We tried our best to finish in the top eight.

“This is an incredible competition and we never take it for granted. We want to appreciate it, and we don’t want to throw away the work we’ve put in to get here.

“We have a good team. We made the changes we needed to make today. We may need to make a few more for Liverpool because we will be back at Anfield any time.”

Luis Enrique: PSG must improve

PSG went through the playoff round to win the Champions League for the first time last season.

But it was another disappointing performance from Luis Enrique’s men in a season that saw their usual domestic dominance threatened.

And Luis Enrique admitted that PSG were not performing at the required level.

“It’s always difficult when you expect to be in the top eight,” he told TNT Sports.

“We deserved to win the match, not by a huge margin, but I have to say Newcastle are a very good side. They played well with set-pieces. But we need to improve.”