Newcastle United still left Paris with their heads held high after being just seconds away from inflicting defeat on one of the most expensively assembled teams in world football.
The 1-1 draw in Group F does not kill off Newcastle's chances entirely but the situation is now out of their hands going into the final round of games. Quite simply, United must hope Borussia Dortmund beat Paris St-Germain at Signal Iduna Park and that they avoid defeat at the hands of AC Milan back on Tyneside.
READ MORE: Eddie Howe left deflated as he explains emotions after penalty choker
READ MORE: Alexander Isak blasts cheap decision in Paris as Newcastle lose two points
When the frustration of Paris wears off, Newcastle will feel that they have a good chance of still making it and they know that staying in Europe - via the Europa League - is definitely in their hands.
United players felt that referee crumbled under pressure from PSG stars
It's not like referee Szymon Marciniak is a novice referee at the highest level. After all he was entrusted by FIFA to referee the World Cup final between Argentina and France only last Christmas.
And it wasn't even the fact that the 42-year-old Polish official initially didn't give the penalty that riled Newcastle's stars. It was the fact that the former badminton amateur had the opportunity to take a good hard look at the penalty again via the monitor but still got the decision wrong.
With PSG players surrounding him at the end of stoppage time and home fans cheering him to the monitor, a tell-tale sign that a decision is not going to go your way, Newcastle players believed that the referee had a rush of blood.
The look on Joelinton's face at the full-time whistle, as the Brazilian shook his head in disgust, said it all at Parc des Princes. As Marciniak trudged back for the restart after Kylian Mbappe he was reminded he'd got it badly wrong when awarding a penalty for Tino Livramento's unintentional handball.
Mbappe had led the protests with the French superstar finally getting his way after being restricted by brilliant Newcastle.
Newcastle team bus roared out of Paris
After Newcastle fans had been herded out the Parc des Princes through a dangerous gateway then on to the menacing streets of south-west Paris, some Newcastle supporters gathered in numbers at a cafe near the stadium.
To their disbelief the two team buses rolled past them and as the vehicle stopped at a junction, the players could see fans giving them a standing ovation. A huge roar left locals shocked as travelling Geordies chanted: "Newcastle, Newcastle."
Despite the controversy of the night, the away contingent, who'd been marched around Paris, heckled and attacked on this difficult and dangerous assignment, were proud of their team's efforts.
