Eddie Howe, Newcastle United's coach, spoke after the heavy defeat against Barcelona with a score of 7-2 in the second leg of the Champions League Round of 16, expressing his regret for the goals his team conceded from set pieces, but he emphasized that his team's performance in the first half was good despite some individual errors.

Howe said: "The goals from set pieces are unforgivable because you know how strong they are in other aspects of their play."

He continued: "Our defense today was not at the level we were at a few days ago in the Chelsea match, and despite our excellent performance in the first half, and I think we were excellent in many aspects, there were a lot of individual errors."

Regarding the injury of Italian midfielder Sandro Tonali, Howe said: "Sandro was suffering from some illness before the match, I think he started feeling fatigued and felt something in the thigh area, so it might be a problem for us. There were some players we were trying to manage their participation in the second half."

Howe added: "They are a difficult team to play against, but we controlled the start relatively well, we had many quick recoveries and counter opportunities, and we have very good players, but the first goal I think two players slipped, and the second goal from a set piece, amidst all this good play, we conceded two goals to them, and I think those were the key moments that needed to be managed."

On the psychological impact of the goals on the team, he explained: "Psychologically, it was a hard blow to the players just before the break, like the end of the first leg, then they scored quickly after the first half, psychologically, we couldn't recover from that moment, and the second half was difficult."

Newcastle's coach concluded his remarks by saying: "A difficult way to exit the tournament, it's strange trying to summarize that, in the first half, we were excellent, but we didn't defend the crucial moments well enough, and we made several individual errors, which ultimately cost us, and the second half we were not at the same level as the first half, and it was deserved for Barcelona to advance."