Goals from Sandro Tonali and Bruno Guimaraes boosted Newcastle’s top-five dreams in a 2-0 home win over ten-men Chelsea.
Guimaraes boosted Newcastle’s hopes of a top-five finish with a 90th-minute curled effort into the top-right corner from Dan Burn’s pass to seal victory, after the left-back met an initial free-kick.
Tonali fired Newcastle in front with a second-minute strike from Jacob Murphy’s cross after neat play around the edge of the box.
Chelsea played almost one hour with ten men after Nicolas Jackson was red carded in the 36th minute following a Video-Assistant Referee (VAR) review, after he elbowed Sven Botman in the face.
Newcastle’s win now put them third in the table with two games of the campaign left after Manchester City were held to a goalless draw at Southampton, whilst Chelsea remained in fifth position.
Sat fourth and fifth at kick-off with an equal goal difference of +21, only four goals separated Newcastle and Chelsea in terms of goals scored but it was the Blues who made a strong start with a corner in the opening minute.
Newcastle quickly cleared that early set-piece and broke up the left as Dan Burn played Anthony Gordon forward only for Trevoh Chalobah to foul him, which ultimately saw the ball played across the box for Murphy to whip in for Tonali to put away to the home crowd’s delight.
That unexpected second-minute goal unsettled Chelsea as Newcastle soon began to control the game, during which Moises Caicedo made a poor headed clearance in the 13th minute, as the ball fell for Guimaraes to chest down but the Brazilian volleyed his shot over the bar.
Alexander Isak was the next to go closest after he met Burn’s headed pass from a 18th-minute free-kick which the Swede miskicked into the ground and Robert Sanchez’s arms.
Chelsea’s best chance of the opening half came from a 24th-minute corner clearance which fell for Caicedo but the Ecuadorian fired wide of the left corner on the rebound.
Enzo Maresca’s Blues were dealt another difficult blow after Jackson elbowed Botman in the 33rd minute, which referee – John Brooks initially deemed to be a yellow card offence until VAR intervened and upgraded the booking to a red card three minutes later.
The red card also marked Jackson’s first sending off as a Chelsea player, as well as his first dismissal since Villarreal’s 2-0 home win over Real Sociedad in April 2023 in Spain’s La Liga.
Newcastle almost took full advantage of their extra man before half time as Burn twice headed wide, whilst Barnes saw a 43rd-minute shot blocked by Sanchez as the Magpies looked the more comfortable and confident at the break.
Chelsea in response substituted Noni Madueke for Reece James which instilled fresh confidence into the visitors for the second half, although James was lucky to not find himself red carded just three minutes after he came on following a 48th-minute foul on Gordon inside the box.
Brooks however deemed their incident to be a simple collision and snubbed Gordon’s penalty appeals.
Marc Cucurella proved the Blues’ brightest attacking spark as the second half wore on during which his low left-footed shot was blocked by Nick Pope.
Newcastle continued to push for a second goal to settle the tie as Isak put a right-footed volley wide from a 58th-minute corner, before Murphy dinked a pass over Cucurella for Guimaraes who put his shot wide from close range.
Eddie Howe’s Magpies were dealt a late scare as James thumped a 88th-minute header over the bar from Malo Gusto’s cross, yet they responded a minute later to put a top-five finish in their own hands in the final two matchweeks after Guimaraes curled into the far right corner via Gusto’s deflection.
What’s Next?
Newcastle face another difficult test as they head to Arsenal in their final away game of the season on Sunday 18 May at 4:30pm BST, before their campaign ends on Sunday 25 May at home to Everton in a 4pm kick-off.
Chelsea finish their league campaign with two tough games as they first host Manchester United on Friday 16 May at 8:15pm, before they then head to Nottingham Forest in a potential season-defining showdown on the final day on 25 May at 4pm.
Teams
Newcastle: Nick Pope, Tino Livramento, Fabian Schar, Sven Botman (Miley 55′), Dan Burn, Bruno Guimaraes (Longstaff 94′), Sandro Tonali, Anthony Gordon (Krafth 65′), Jacob Murphy, Alexander Isak (Wilson 94′), Harvey Barnes
Substitutes: Martin Dubravka, Emil Krafth, Jamaal Lascelles, Sean Longstaff, Lewis Miley, Sean Neave, William Osula, John Ruddy, Callum Wilson
Chelsea – Robert Sanchez, Moises Caicedo, Trevoh Chalobah (Sancho 75′), Levi Colwill, Marc Cucurella, Romeo Lavia (Gusto 75′), Enzo Fernandez, Pedro Neto, Cole Palmer, Noni Madueke (James 46′), Nicolas Jackson
Substitutes: Josh Acheampong, Benoit Badiashile, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Tyrique George, Malo Gusto, Reece James, Filip Jorgensen, Tosin Adarabioyo, Jadon Sancho
Referee – John Brooks