Leeds United have been credited for Newcastle United’s ‘sliding doors’ moment as they went from relegation strugglers to a club now in the Champions League.
Leeds’ three years in the Premier League from 2020 to 2023 are littered with ‘what ifs’. Whether it’s the failure to back Marcelo Bielsa, then to sack him, then everything calamitous that followed before relegation.
Towards the end of Bielsa’s time at the club, a must-win game at home to Newcastle United brought a bleak 1-0 defeat. Since that January 2022 fixture, the Magpies have qualified for the Champions League twice and won the EFL Cup.
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Newcastle United’s 1-0 win at Leeds United kickstarted St James’ Park revolution
It was seen as a massive turning point at the time. Newcastle had already been taken over by the richest owners in football, the Saudi Arabian PIF, and kicked on from that rain-soaked game at Elland Road.
Former England international Jonjo Shelvey settled the match with a 75th-minute free-kick that squirmed through Illan Meslier’s low dive, and that was only the Magpies’ second win of the season.
Jonjo Shelvey’s fortunate free-kick goal completely turned Newcastle United around for good. (REUTERS/Scott Heppell)
What followed was a stunning upturn in form, as Newcastle went from one win prior to this game (losing to Cambridge in the FA Cup too), to winning 12 of their final 18 games, ultimately finishing up in 11th.
Jonjo Shelvey: Leeds United’s Illan Meslier is to thank for Newcastle United not being relegated
Eddie Howe’s side haven’t looked back since, now amongst Europe’s elite with huge fees being spent left and right. Prior to that win, there was a genuinely high chance that Newcastle were heading to the Championship.
The man who scored that day is well aware that his goal completely flipped the narrative around Newcastle. He’s also thankful of Meslier’s contribution, allowing that goal to go in.
It was an effort that had no right to find the net in a cagey stalemate up to that point. Now, Shelvey acknowledges the impact it’s had since.
“If I had not scored that, the club would have gone down!” he told BBC. “I’m joking. Looking back at it, you don’t realise how big a goal it was and, to be fair, the keeper [Illan Meslier] chucked one in for us. I scuffed the life out of it.”
A grim afternoon for Leeds United, and Newcastle United are a club transformed because of it
I remember the sinking feeling of that game. It was the chance for three successive wins, but it ultimately sparked the end of Bielsa’s time at the club.
We could have made a real statement by putting Newcastle to bed that day. Having previously beaten Burnley and West Ham that month, Newcastle were there to beat. Instead, we gave the Magpies a shot in the arm, and the two clubs went in wildly contrasting directions.
Relegation 18 months later and Leeds find themselves now in a Premier League table that looks so much different to the one we were in.
It’s incredible to see how much they’ve kicked on. And, it’s clearly not lost on the players that were there at the time.
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