Chelsea’s win and Aston Villa’s defeat handed the Magpies their place in the big time.
Newcastle secured Champions League football despite defeat to Everton (Owen Humphreys/PA)
Newcastle secured Champions League football despite defeat to Everton (Owen Humphreys/PA) (PA Wire)
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Newcastle managed to cling on to their Champions League dream by the skin of their teeth despite Charly Alcaraz heading Everton to Premier League victory at St James’ Park on the final day of the season.
Alcaraz’s 65th-minute strike secured a 1-0 win on Tyneside and that, coupled with Chelsea’s win at Nottingham Forest and 10-man Aston Villa’s 2-0 defeat at Manchester United, left the Magpies in fifth place on goal difference.
On a day when victory would have been enough to end the tension, the Magpies were uncharacteristically nervy and imprecise, and the final whistle was greeted by joyous applause as a packed house of 52,221 celebrated not the result on the day, but the efforts which had secured a second trip to Europe’s top table in three seasons and the Carabao Cup during an arduous campaign.
As an initial onslaught by the hosts abated, David Moyes’ men worked their way into the game and Tino Livramento had to intercept James Garner’s dangerous ninth-minute cross after Idrissa Gueye had cleverly played his team-mate in over the top.
With Gueye, Iliman Ndiaye and Alcaraz thriving in midfield, Everton were making life uncomfortable for the hosts at times and as Alexander Isak struggled to get himself into the game, chances were at a premium for Newcastle.
Nick Pope claimed Alcaraz’s 22nd-minute free-kick with little fuss, but he was extended much further by Garner’s swerving strike from distance two minutes later.
Harvey Barnes was unable to react quickly enough to make meaningful contact with Livramento’s teasing cross at the far post after the wing-back had skipped past Jack Harrison down the left, but it took a fine double save from Jordan Pickford to deny first Sandro Tonali, then Isak 14 minutes before the break.
Pickford tipped over a Sven Botman header as it reared up off the turf and then repelled the defender’s near-post shot as the Magpies forced a series of corners, but Pope had to be equally resilient to prevent Alcaraz’s 39th-minute header from sneaking under his crossbar.
Joe Willock replaced Anthony Gordon before the restart and Eddie Howe shifted from a back three to a four, but his team were sloppy during the opening exchanges of the second half and Livramento survived penalty appeals after Harrison’s cross appeared to strike his arm before Pope had to palm away another Alcaraz drive.
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But concern mounted among the locals with 25 minutes remaining when Alcaraz rose to head Vitalii Mykolenko’s cross past the stranded Pope to hand the visitors a deserved lead.
Pickford parried Isak’s 68th-minute piledriver and then saw Fabian Schar and substitute Kieran Trippier fire inches wide as Newcastle felt the golden ticket slipping from their grasp, although news of Amad Diallo’s goal at Old Trafford had raised spirits off the pitch significantly in the meantime.
A madcap conclusion to the game failed to yield a second goal – although Toffees substitute Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Magpies skipper Bruno Guimaraes both went close in stoppage time – and both were able to celebrate for different reasons when referee Tony Harrington finally brought proceedings to a halt.