AC Milan could not find a way past Champions League returning English side Newcastle United, as they were held to a stalemate at the San Siro.

AC Milan will blame themselves for not getting maximum points in this fixture, as they had several good chances throughout the Group F opener.

Newcastle will be happy to mark their return to the Champions League after a 20-year absence with a creditable draw, having finished fourth in the Premier League last season.

They have at least passed a test in their first match in a tough Group F that also contains French champions Paris St-Germain and German giants Borussia Dortmund.

They surely got a reminder of the difficulty in this competition as Milan dominated the first half. Nick Pope came to their rescue when he saved efforts from Olivier Giroud and Theo Hernandez.

Rafael Leao also failed to punish the visitors after spurning a golden chance. The Portuguese forward fluffed his backheel after a fine solo run.

Having been fortunate to end the first half without conceding a goal, Newcastle raised their game in the second period.
The Magpies got a notable chance when former Milan midfielder Sandro Tonali saw a shot blocked for the visitors.

After Tijjani Reijnders forced a decent save out of Pope with a low drive, Leao again failed to score what would have been the winning goal in the closing stages when he got between Newcastle defenders to meet a cross, but he headed just over.

In the fourth minute of stoppage time, Newcastle finally got their first shot on target when Sean Longstaff saw a fierce effort tipped over.

They would return to England with their head high as it is undoubtedly an encouraging result for the Magpies.
But they will have to perform better to progress from the group.