Woltemade’s return to Germany with Newcastle ends in Champions League frustration

By: James Ellingworth, The Associated Press Posted: 4:35 PM CST Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2025

Flashes of potential from Nick Woltemade and a team which can't finish the job. It's becoming a theme for Newcastle.

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Flashes of potential from Nick Woltemade and a team which can't finish the job. It's becoming a theme for Newcastle.

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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 10/12/2025 (298 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Flashes of potential from Nick Woltemade and a team which can’t finish the job. It’s becoming a theme for Newcastle.

Woltemade’s return to Germany ended with a frustrating 2-2 draw at Bayer Leverkusen after he had won the penalty which resulted in his team’s first goal.

Newcastle created more than enough chances to win, hitting the post twice, but Alejandro Grimaldo’s 88th-minute goal for Leverkusen ensured that, for the third time in five games, Eddie Howe’s team dropped points in a game it had been leading.

Newcastle's Nick Woltemade reacts during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Bayer Leverkusen and Newcastle United in Leverkusen, Germany, Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

Woltemade’s most obvious asset is his towering stature at 6-foot-6 (1.98 meters), but as so often this season, he made his mark in other ways.

The German striker showed good game awareness to surprise Leverkusen goalkeeper Mark Flekken in possession as he looked for a pass up field. Woltemade drew a penalty as Flekken desperately tried to keep him away from the ball, and Anthony Gordon scored to level the score at 1-1.

Lewis Miley’s header gave Newcastle the lead after that but his team couldn’t finish off the game as Grimaldo scored against English opposition for the second Champions League game running.

The two times that Woltemade’s Stuttgart team played at Leverkusen last season, he was an unused substitute, a sign of how swiftly he’s risen to prominence.

Woltemade wasn’t a regular starter in the Bundesliga until early 2025 — he was even left out of Stuttgart’s Champions League squad last season — but finished the season with 17 goals in all competitions. His combination of height and technique made him a sought-after target for clubs across Europe.

With seven goals for Newcastle so far, he has settled in well and so far avoided the fate of other German strikers whose moves to the Premier League flopped, like Timo Werner at Chelsea and Tottenham, or Niclas Füllkrug at West Ham. Four goals in his last three games for the German national team have boosted his reputation further at home, too.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer