After a brilliant second-half comeback against Southampton on Sunday afternoon, Newcastle eventually won 3-1 at St James’ Park.
While the party atmosphere in the Northeast may have been overwhelmed when Stuart Armstrong opened the scoring just four minutes before halftime, Eddie Howe’s high-flying team showed why they were aiming for the famous top four.
Really enjoying the turmoil in the heavyweight division since returning from hiatus, it was the introduction of Callum Wilson that certainly changed momentum in Newcastle’s favour.
Watching England play in the second half and with Theo Walcott’s own goal sandwiched between them, the Magpies have certainly taken another huge step towards a Champions League ticket.
Two teams battling at opposite ends of the Premier League table, Southampton will now know after Sunday’s crash that their status in the top flight hangs in the balance.
In the afternoon, with Newcastle again at their best, we took a look at the main topics of discussion at St James’ Park.
Will anyone be able to stop Newcastle in the last few weeks?
While Newcastle may have focused last season on sugarcoating their Premier League status, Howe’s side are in the midst of what has quickly become a historic campaign at St James’ Park.
Only continuing to receive a string of applause from across Europe and certainly solidifying his place as a Premier League surprise this season, the former Bournemouth boss now has his team at arm’s length to secure an iconic top-four finish.
Sentiment around the North East is at its highest in recent memory and the Sunday hosts have ridden what has been a record wave of momentum and now have a fearsome reputation among the English elite.
With a stunning showing last weekend when they won 6-1 at home against Tottenham, the Magpies won eight of their previous nine Premier League matches and more than deserve to be in the top four.
While Newcastle may have seen Liverpool expand their own European ambitions later in the day when they beat Spurs at Anfield, Howe’s side maintain a nine-point team buffer to stay out of the League zone champions.
As they storm their way to the finish line, there’s no doubt that Sunday’s hosts will enjoy Arsenal’s arrival in the North East on May 7 in what could be another season-defining event.
Newcastle’s attack is one of the best in the Premier League
While Newcastle may have come into the World Cup winter break with a real reputation for defensive determination, it’s Howe’s offense that has captured most of the headlines over the past few weeks.
Despite the Magpies arguably recording just one Premier League clean sheet since the 0-0 draw against Crystal Palace on 21 January, the Champions League contenders only continued their staggering flurry into the final third.
Making that big statement last weekend when they beat Spurs in six games at St James’ Park, Howe’s men have scored 13 goals in just their last three consecutive Premier League wins.
Having overtaken relegated Everton earlier in the week in a 4-1 win over Merseyside, Newcastle have also scored 22 goals since returning from the March international break.
With their clinical spell underscored by a 5-1 win away to the Europa Conference League semi-final West Ham on April 5, the former Bournemouth boss also has a pair of attacking mascots that certainly top their top four.
With Wilson earning another top-flight double here and Alexander Isak, who arrived in the summer, made an immediate impact upon arriving in the North East, there are several Premier League defenders who will be looking forward to facing the Newcastle attack. in the heavyweight division.
Southampton’s Premier League nightmare comes to an end
While Southampton could have claimed a decisive 1-0 victory over Leicester as early as March 4, the Saints certainly proved that it was nothing more than a minor positive in what was a lamentable south coast campaign. .
It’s no secret that the Southampton team would have resigned themselves to their fate some time ago, showing only a series of egregious problems on both sides of the World Cup winter break.
Knowing their relegation to the Championship was all but confirmed after a 1-0 home defeat against bitter local rivals Bournemouth midweek, the Saints have failed to win any of their last nine consecutive Premier League matches. only three points on the board.
After all, completely out of the water since the half-time break, Southampton are now in need of what would be a seismic getaway to somehow maintain their Premier League status in May.
While they may have witnessed both Leeds and Nottingham Forest suffer their own top flight defeats in a week, Selles’ side are still six points behind safety with just four matches left this season. Premier League.
Still needing to end their nightmarish campaign with meetings with Brighton and Liverpool, it looks like Sunday’s defeat at St James’s will be the final nail in Southampton’s coffin.
Match report
Newcastle: Pope, Trippier, Shar, Botman, Burn, Gordon, Guimarães, Willock, Murphy, Isak, Jolinton
Subscriptions: Wilson, Almiron, Anderson, Richie
Southampton: McCarthy, Walker-Peters, Bednarek, Bella-Kotchap, Linaco, S. Armstrong, Ward-Prowse, Lavia, Sulemana, Alvarez, Genepo
Subscriptions: A. Armstrong, Adams, Elyounoussi, Maitland-Niles, Walcott
Goals: Newcastle: Wilson (55′, 81′) Walcott O.G. (79′) – Southampton: S. Armstrong (41′)
Yellow cards: Newcastle: Joelinton – Southampton: Lavia, Elyounoussi, Walker-Peters, Bednarek
Red cards: N/A
Judge: Anthony Taylor