Newcastle United squeezed into the Champions League places despite losing 1-0 to Everton at home in its final game of the Premier League season on Sunday, thanks to Manchester United’s 2-0 home win over Aston Villa.
The Magpies, who ended a 70-year domestic trophy drought by beating Liverpool to win the League Cup earlier in the season, ended up in fifth place on 66 points, edging out Villa on goal difference.
The final whistle led to a nervous wait at St. James’s Park as the game continued at Old Trafford, with confirmation of Villa’s defeat bringing a roar of joy and relief as the Champions League hymn was played to celebrate Newcastle’s return to Europe’s premier competition.
Newcastle dominated throughout but was undone by poor finishing and sloppy passing. Its struggles were encapsulated in a 38th-minute tongue-lashing administered by defender Fabian Schar to team mate Jacob Murphy, who dawdled across the midfield before carelessly giving away the ball.
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The home side had its chances but its final ball into the box was often poor, and any efforts it did manage to get on goal were comfortably dealt with by Jordan Pickford in the Everton goal.
Newcastle was eventually punished for giving away the ball once too often in the centre of the pitch in the 65th minute, with Everton’s Vitaliy Mykolenko crossing for Carlos Alcaraz to score with a brilliant header.
The home side poured forward late in the second half as it sought to salvage some pride with an equaliser, with Bruno Guimares sending a stoppage-time effort that might have saved its blushes whistling past the top corner.
Other than that, Everton was in no mood to accommodate it and defended doggedly to the bitter end, finishing its season in 13th place on 48 points.
Newcastle 4-1 Tottenham Hotspur
Brighton & Hove Albion left Tottenham Hotspur with a hangover by thrashing the Europa League winner 4-1 away but missed out on a European place after finishing eighth in the standings.
Spurs were in celebratory mood following their triumph against Manchester United in Bilbao in midweek and took the lead through a Dominic Solanke penalty after 17 minutes following a clumsy foul on Mathys Tel by Mats Wieffer.
However, Brighton pushed for an equaliser and got it six minutes after the break through Jack Hinshelwood, who rifled the ball into the roof of the net, and he grabbed its second with a clever back-heel in the 64th following another corner.
Matt O’Riley then scored from the spot after Diego Gomez was fouled by Yves Bissouma, and Gomez netted a stunning fourth in added time for the visitor when he expertly curled the ball into the far top corner from just outside the area.
The defeat was the 22nd of a dreadful Premier League season for Spurs, which piled the pressure on their Australian manager Ange Postecoglou and led to speculation that he faced the sack.
Tottenham ended the campaign in 17th place, its lowest league finish in 21 years, with 38 points being the club’s worst ever Premier League tally. However, on Sunday the home fans were more focused on celebrating their European success.
The players came back out after the game for a lap of the pitch with the Europa League, Spurs’ first silverware since 2008 and their first European trophy for 41 years. Whether that is enough to extend Postecoglou’s reign remains to be seen.
