Newcastle United take a big step towards their first CL participation since 2003


Thursday, May 18, 2023 at 10:33 PM• Rian Rosendaal • Last update: 22:39

Newcastle United did excellent business on Thursday evening in the battle for third place and a ticket for the group stage of the Champions League. The Magpies won 4-1 at home against Brighton & Hove Albion and are four points clear of fifth place with two Premier League matches remaining. Newcastle, with Sven Botman in the ranks, laid the foundation for the important victory in their own St’James’ Park with two goals before the break.

Newcastle showed the attacking intentions in the early stages and the considerably changed Brighton, with a starting place for Jan Paul van Hecke and the injured Joel Veltman in the stands, was mainly limited to holding back. That worked until the 21st minute. A corner kick from Kieran Trippier disappeared into the goal via the unfortunate Deniz Undav: 1-0. Newcastle remained the parent, although Brighton seemed to go into halftime with a small deficit. That changed, however, when centre-back Dan Burn headed the ball into the right corner from a measured free-kick by Trippier. A big boost for Newcastle and the frenzied fans.

Shortly after the break, Brighton showed itself to be a lot more dangerous and that quickly resulted in the tying goal. Undav, who was still unhappy in the first half, hit the target after a smart through ball from Billy Gilmour. Newcastle then tried to restore the margin of two and almost succeeded through an Alexander Isak header. Goalkeeper Jason Steele, however, paid close attention and prevented the home club’s third goal. Bruno Guimarães also failed in a promising position, so that the final phase remained exciting and Brighton could continue to hope for a point.

Newcastle fans could not breathe a sigh of relief until the 88th minute. The Magpies countered quickly and it was Callum Wilson who made it 3-1 from inside the box. In added time, Bruno Guimarães even made it 4-1 on a pass from Wilson. Joy scenes in the stands, because reaching the group stage of the Champions League is now very close for Newcastle. If they get through the remaining duels with Leicester City (May 22) and Chelsea (May 28), then they will participate in the billion dollar ball for the first time since 2003.

No. Team m W G v +/- Pnt
1 Manchester City 35 27 4 4 61 85
2 Arsenal 36 25 6 5 41 81
3 Newcastle United 36 19 12 5 35 69
4 Manchester United 35 20 6 9 10 66
5 Liverpool 36 19 8 9 28 65
6 Brighton & Hove Albion 35 17 7 11 18 58
7 Tottenham Hotspur 36 17 6 13 6 57
8 Aston Villa 36 17 6 13 4 57
9 Brentford 36 13 14 9 9 53
10 Fulham 36 15 6 15 3 51
11 Chelsea 35 11 10 14 -5 43
12 Crystal Palace 36 11 10 15 -9 43
13 Wolverhampton W. 36 11 7 18 -22 40
14 AFC Bournemouth 36 11 6 19 -32 39
15 West Ham United 36 10 7 19 -14 37
16 Nottingham Forest 36 8 10 18 -31 34
17 Everton 36 7 11 18 -24 32
18 Leeds United 36 7 10 19 -25 31
19 Leicester City 36 8 6 22 -18 30
20 Southampton 36 6 6 24 -35 24