Newcastle set up crunch Chelsea clash for Champions League

Newcastle United fans have already had their big celebration this season. For much of their trip to Brighton, they may well have been concerned that might end up being as much as they were going to get for this year.

Newcastle have been genuinely brilliant through much of the second half of the season, supplementing their Carabao Cup win with a run of form that just a few weeks ago was second only to new Premier League champions Liverpool.

That lifted Newcastle into the top five, but there scarcely has been a worse time for their nightmare showing away to Aston Villa, followed by a largely toothless and frustrating display at Brighton in which they trailed for over an hour to Yankuba Minteh’s deflected strike.

So tense and competitive is that battle for the top five that a comprehensive victory over ten-man Ipswich in between did little to allay those creeping worries, just as Champions League football was starting to look like it was in the bag. Thanks to their late rescued point, by this time next week, it may very well be.

MORE: Newcastle PIF signings ranked: PSR shambles bottom, Arsenal target top, Harvey Barnes 11th

Newcastle’s desperation was spelt out by Joe Willock’s dive to initially win a penalty, only for it to be correctly overturned by VAR – with Willock receiving an inevitable yellow card for his troubles.

But there were also signs of the kind of attitude that could see Newcastle across the line in an earlier VAR decision. Anthony Gordon was marginally outside the box but fell into the penalty area under a challenge, understandably leading to a penalty being awarded.

When the video ref uncovered the truth of the situation, Gordon accepted the decision with a nod of the head and a magnanimous “OK”, before geeing up his teammates to prepare for the impending free kick.

Newcastle kept true to that spirit and kept pushing Brighton, and finally got a penalty decision that could not be denied: Yasin Ayari windmilled his hand into the ball as he tried to block Fabian Schar’s free-kick, and Alexander Isak inevitably stepped up to convert his 23rd goal of the season.

Eddie Howe may be frustrated his side did not get the full three points, but a draw on the road against top-half opposition is not to be sniffed at – and more to the point, is potentially massive for Newcastle. Their huge goal difference advantage over Forest and Villa effectively turns their three-point gap into a four-point gorge at this stage of the season.

On paper, Newcastle have the toughest run-in of any of the Champions League contenders, at least once Chelsea’s game against Liverpool later on Sunday is out of the way. Newcastle will themselves host Chelsea and Everton, with a trip to Arsenal in between.

But that clash with Enzo Maresca’s Blues next Sunday lunchtime also brings with it a massive opportunity for Newcastle.

With Forest and Chelsea guaranteed to take points off each other on the final day, a Newcastle victory over Chelsea could be enough to see them virtually over the line and upgrade their already-assured seat in next season’s Europa League into one at UEFA’s biggest table. Another celebration could be on its way to Tyneside after all.