Sandro Tonali celebrates after scoring for Newcastle United against Chelsea and, inset, Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta
Sandro Tonali celebrates after scoring for Newcastle United against Chelsea and, inset, Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta
The day of rest? Yeah, right. As St James' Park stirred to the sound of the Blaydon Races a few minutes before kick-off, one voice could be heard loud and clear in the Newcastle United dressing room on Sunday. "Apart from the final, this is the most important game of the season," captain Bruno Guimaraes roared.
Newcastle certainly started this high-noon showdown against Chelsea like it was a showpiece. 'Get into them,' the Wor Flags banner urged the hosts before the 2-0 win. They did that, all right.
In truth, Chelsea did not quite know what had hit them after the stunned Blues found themselves behind after just 112 seconds following Sandro Tonali's opener.
Chelsea's afternoon got even worse after Nicolas Jackson saw red, but the the visitors rallied after the break. To the point where Newcastle were indebted to Nick Pope for making big saves to deny Marc Cucurella and Enzo Fernandez.
Newcastle might have crumbled once upon a time. Not anymore, however. Bruno Guimaraes, the captain, stepped up with a deflected effort at the death to take Eddie Howe's side within just a win of Champions League qualification.
"We’ve become used to the big games," the Newcastle boss told reporters after his side moved up to third. "I don’t think that was the case when we first arrived, but we’ve slowly built our league position. Having two cup finals and the Champions League experience has definitely helped us in that respect. Now there’s a much better reaction to the bigger occasions and no bigger than today, really.
"The pressure on us was huge, with the expectation and the crowd, and you’ve got to try to use all of those things to your advantage. But, if you’re not careful, they can become a disadvantage. Credit to the players, who were magnificent, and credit to the crowd. It was the early kick-off, but they were there for us from before the game and that certainly helped us relax into the game."
What a contrast to wobbles elsewhere. After all, this was a weekend where 'a really upset' Mikel Arteta bemoaned Arsenal being 'nowhere near their level' at Liverpool. Manchester City were frustrated by bottom-of-the-table Southampton. Furious Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis even marched on to the field to confront Nuno following the 2-2 draw against relegated Leicester City.
Newcastle, though, held their nerve - but the job is not done. Not yet. Bruno told ChronicleLive that 'we think we are close but it's not enough' while Howe refused to get carried away and insisted 'we're not taking anything for granted' ahead of a trip to the Emirates next week. You can be sure Howe will demand the same ferocious intensity his side started with after Newcastle caught Chelsea cold.
Sandro Tonali opens the scoring for Newcastle United against Chelsea
The game had not long kicked off when Tino Livramento's clipped ball over the top sent Anthony Gordon on a footrace with Moises Caicedo down the left. Caicedo ended up knocking Gordon over inside the box, giving Chelsea the chance to clear, but rather than booting the ball away, Trevoh Chalobah took a couple of casual touches and Alexander Isak sprinted over to close the Chelsea defender down.
Chalobah managed to pick out the nearby Romeo Lavia, who was facing his own goal, but the Chelsea midfielder also took a relaxed touch, seemingly unaware that Sandro Tonali was hurtling towards him. Tonali dispossessed Lavia and fed Bruno Guimaraes, who, in turn, found Jacob Murphy out on the right.
Murphy only had one thought in his mind - getting the ball into the box - and the forward's cross was met by Tonali at the back post. The ball bounced off the turf and over the stretching Sanchez to send Geordies wild.
Enzo Maresca repeatedly raised his hands on the touchline, urging his side to stay calm, but a frustrated Nicolas Jackson did not get the message after the half-hour mark. Sanchez booted the ball up field and Jackson, glancing at Sven Botman, stuck his forearm out as the pair jumped for the ball to send the Dutchman crashing to the turf.
John Brooks booked Jackson at first, but VAR intervened and asked the referee to take a second look on the pitchside monitor. It did not take Brooks long to change his mind and send Jackson off and end the striker's league season.
It looked an awful long way back for Chelsea at that point. After all, with or without a focal point, the Blues failed to even test Nick Pope in the first half.
Bruno Guimaraes scores Newcastle United's second goal against Chelsea
However, it was Chelsea who looked like the side with a man advantage after the break as nerves took hold inside St James' and Newcastle struggled to keep the ball - let alone find a way to double their lead. Pope ended up making crucial saves to deny Cucurella and Fernandez while the Newcastle goalkeeper was relieved to see substitute Reece James head over late on.
Just as the board went up, though, to signal five minutes of stoppage time were to be added on, Newcastle clinched a precious win. Bruno picked up the ball 25 yards from goal and Chelsea defenders backed off, inviting the Brazil international to shoot from outside the area. Bruno did not need a second invitation and the Newcastle captain's effort took a deflection off the leg of Malo Gusto and looped over Sanchez into the net.
That was the cue for Geordies to ask 'Is this the way to Barcelona?' They are one step closer to finding out.