Apparently the pressure from other teams this season is such that Newcastle can't stand up to them properly and that's why they have lost 4 games in their last 5 matches. I can't explain it any other way, because for no reason at one point everything went wrong for them. I'm not taking the champions league into account because it's a slightly different level, but still. I think they'll have a hard time even getting into the top 6 of the current season, let alone the fantasy top 4
I don't really have a good explanation either for Newcastle's decline, but I would not exclude the Champions League from the evaluation of their performance. Dortmund should have been an opponent they can beat. AC Milan I think so, too. They did beat PSG in that amazing game at home, but overall their performance wasn't sufficient to make it to the next round. But I think the Champions League should be taken into account because it's the same there as it is in the Premier League for Newcastle at the moment. They can't consistently perform on their best level. They have some games that are shockingly good and then they have these blackouts like recently against really some of the weaker teams. This season will be disappointing for everyone in Newcastle.