Newcastle United coach Eddie Howe blamed his side's 2-0 defeat by Borrusia Dortmund in the Champions League to a lack of intensity in the way his team played.
The German side made back-to-back wins against Newcastle, to dent hopes of the English side reaching the knockout stages of the Champions League.
Niclas Fullkrug and Julian Brandt scored in each half to hand Edin Terzic's Dortmund side their second win of the competition in four matches after losing the opening two games against Ac Milan and PSG.
"We weren't at our best today," said Newcastle manager Eddie Howe. "The intensity and quality of our normal game was missing," Howe told BBC Sports.
"We still had our moments and Joelinton's header is probably the key moment in the game from our perspective. He would back himself to score that if it came in again."
The game was also subject to a short stoppage after the interval as fake golden bars and other objects were thrown onto the pitch from the 'Yellow Wall', part of a protest against Uefa's proposed Champions League reforms, with one banner reading "You don't care about the sport - all you care about is money".
Newcastle began the competition in style after registering a hard-earned draw against AC Milan at the San Siro Stadium before dispatching PSG 4-1 in their backyard.
However, losses against Dortmund have put their qualification under threat with AC Milan visiting England on matchday 5 before rounding off the group stage encounters against French giants PSG in the Parisian capital.
