Newcastle United move one step closer to Champions League qualification with victory over Chelsea

Local TV Sport

Newcastle United defeated Chelsea by two goals to nil at St. James’ Park to edge closer to qualifying for the Champions League. Daniel Wales reports.

Transcript

00:00One step closer. That was the message after Newcastle United's 2-0 victory over Chelsea at St James' Park on Sunday.

00:10That saw the Magpies move to the brink of Champions League qualification.

00:16The victory saw the Magpies move up into third place in the Premier League table, leapfrogging Manchester City,

00:22who could only manage a draw away at Southampton on Saturday afternoon.

00:26They also created a three-point gap between themselves and Chelsea and Aston Villa,

00:32as well as a four-point margin on Nottingham Forest, who drew with Leicester City at the city ground.

00:37Let's go back over what happened during the game.

00:41The deafening atmosphere inside of St James' Park roared Newcastle into an early lead

00:47when Sadra Tonali converted from Jacob Murphy's cross into the area.

00:51He tapped home to make the score 1-0, giving the home side the best possible start

00:56from what was Tonali's sixth goal of the season.

01:00Newcastle then pressed for a second, but the game was turned on its head

01:04when Chelsea striker Nicholas Jackson was shown a straight red card thanks to a VAR intervention

01:10after his elbow into the neck of Newcastle defender Sven Botman was judged to be serious foul play.

01:16Chelsea came out fighting in the second half, though, and looked to put Newcastle on the back foot,

01:22but ultimately, with just minutes left, Bruno Gumarajas wrapped up the tie

01:26with a deflected effort that Robert Sanchez could get nowhere near.

01:30Tempers started to flare in the final moments, but for Newcastle,

01:34this was a huge step towards their ultimate goal of securing Champions League football once again

01:39at St James' Park, with the fans applauding in what had been a dogged display.

01:45Following the full-time whistle, Newcastle United head coach Eddie Howe

01:49made clear that his players have become used to dealing with the pressure

01:52that comes with games such as this one.

01:55He also praised the crowd for their efforts in the stands

01:58in creating what was a huge atmosphere to help the players in their quest.

02:03Yeah, so far, so good.

02:06I think we've become used to the big games.

02:09I don't think that was the case when we first arrived

02:12and we slowly built our league position.

02:16But having two cup finals, the Champions League experience,

02:19has definitely helped us in that respect.

02:20I think now there's a much better reaction to the bigger occasions

02:24and no bigger than today, really.

02:25I mean, the pressure on us today was huge.

02:28The expectation, the crowd, and you've got to try and use all of those things

02:33to your advantage, but if you're not careful, they can become a disadvantage.

02:37So, credit to the players, magnificent credit to the crowd

02:40with early kick-off, that they were there for us from well before the game.

02:46And that's certainly helped us relax into the game

02:49and start in the way that we did.

02:51Howe went on to say that the players who came into the starting XI,

02:54such as Anthony Gordon and Sven Buttman,

02:56did very well in replacing the injured Joe Willock and Kieran Trippier.

03:00Yeah, I think we're missing some big players.

03:02And I think whenever you do that, there's a gap.

03:08Now, I think we've done really well.

03:10The lads that came in today did really well.

03:11They filled that gap superbly.

03:13And that's, of course, from my perspective, what you're looking for,

03:15people to step up and show their qualities.

03:17And when you're bringing players like Sven Buttman and Anthony Gordon

03:20into the team, you know, they're top-class players,

03:23and I thought they both played well today.

03:25But below that, of course, now we're slightly stretched.

03:28And, yeah, we see if we can get a couple of players back.

03:32But, of course, the summer window, as we know,

03:34made no hiding of the fact it's a big window for us.

03:37It was the opinion of Chelsea head coach Enzo Mareska

03:41that the game turned on the red card for Nicolas Jackson,

03:44which did not help Chelsea's efforts.

03:46For sure, the red card affect the game, no doubt.

03:53In this stadium against this team, it's already complicated.

03:56And even if you give them one extra player, it's even more difficult.

04:02But overall, I think, especially in the second half,

04:08we had three big chances.

04:10You know, with 10 players, it's not easy.

04:11And in terms of red card, I think if the referee decides

04:16for red card, it's a red card.

04:18The only thing is just in some different decision, I think,

04:23is in this stadium, sometimes it's more the noise

04:26that decides if it's foul or not.

04:30And then with the Nico, I didn't speak.

04:33It's not the moment.

04:34Probably in the next day, we're going to speak with the Nico.

04:38Newcastle next go to Arsenal, knowing that one more win

04:41will secure their place in the Champions League.

Category

Transcript

Recommended