Newcastle United 2 – 0 Chelsea
With this impressive win, Eddie Howe’s side has moved one step closer to securing a Champions League spot.
Chelsea conceded early in the match and things only got worse from there. Before they could recover, they were reduced to ten men in the first half—leaving little chance for a comeback. Newcastle United capitalized on the opportunity and climbed to third place in the league table by defeating Chelsea.
The Premier League clash at St. James’ Park on Sunday ended in a 2-0 victory for the home side. Sandro Tonali gave Newcastle the lead, and Bruno Guimarães doubled the advantage later on.
Newcastle struck early, scoring in just the second minute. Italian midfielder Tonali found the net with a left-footed shot from close range after connecting with a cross from Jacob Murphy.
Chelsea’s troubles deepened in the 35th minute when Senegalese forward Nicolas Jackson was shown a straight red card for a foul on Sven Botman. Despite going a man down, Chelsea managed to maintain more possession for stretches of the game, but struggled to create any real threat in attack.
In the final minute of regulation time, Guimarães sealed the result with a powerful strike from outside the box, eliminating any doubts. The Brazilian midfielder’s goal put the game firmly out of Chelsea’s reach.
With this victory, Eddie Howe’s men have come close to securing a place in next season’s Champions League. They now sit third in the table with 66 points from 36 matches.
Manchester City are fourth with 65 points from the same number of games. Chelsea, on 63 points, are in fifth, just ahead of Aston Villa who also have 63 points and sit sixth on goal difference.
This season, the top five teams from the Premier League will qualify for the Champions League.
