Newcastle United are enjoying a special season, with the club backed by a number of big money signings following the Saudi-led takeover. This has opened up a significant gap to fifth place, and they are now within touching distance of the Champions League. When was the last time Newcastle played in the Champions League? The last time Newcastle played in the Champions League group stage was in the 2002/03 season. They finished fourth in the Premier League the previous campaign to earn a place in the Champions League qualifying rounds, which they successfully navigated to seal their spot in the group stage. They were drawn in a ‘group of death’ with Barcelona, Inter Milan and Bayer Leverkusen, but ultimately finished in third place behind Barcelona and Inter Milan. The following season, Newcastle qualified for the Champions League again, but were defeated by Partizan Belgrade on penalties in the final qualifying round.
The last time Newcastle played in any European competition was the 2012/13 season under Alan Pardew. They finished second in a Europa League group consisting of Bordeaux, Maritimo and Club Brugge. Consecutive 1-0 aggregate wins were secured over Metalist Kharkiv and Anzhi Makhachkala, before their European dream came to an end at the hands of eventual runners-up Benfica in the quarter-finals. Newcastle have two smaller European titles to their name; the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup in 1968/69 and the UEFA Intertoto Cup in 2006.