ST JAMES’ PARK — In the end it didn’t matter for Newcastle United, whose progress will be accelerated by Champions League football next season despite running out of gas on the final day of a historic campaign.
Instead it was the strings of the Champions League anthem that rang out around a euphoric St James’ Park at full-time as results elsewhere granted them a reprieve.
Yasir Al-Rumayyan made his presence felt at St James’ Park (Photo: Reuters)
Eddie Howe, ever the perfectionist, admitted the paucity of the performance was still gnawing away at him as he bounced in a huddle with players and staff afterwards. “Surreal,” was how he described it and that just about summed it up.
Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan took centre-stage in the post-match celebrations and dining at European football’s top table again will be transformative.
“I will have a discussion with the chairman and representatives from PIF today so look forward to that, trying to lay some foundations to what lays ahead in the summer,” Howe said.
“The planning and all the things that go on behind-the-scenes have been going on for a number of weeks to try and set things up for what we need to do.”
Player of the match: Carlos Alcaraz
Looked a man on a mission to impress David Moyes as he signed off his loan spell.They looked knackered here, the absence of big players through the spine of the team felt acutely. Alexander Isak was patched up to play but looked distinctly undercooked, as he has done for weeks.
But those concerns are for another day. A stuttering display (“I thought we wanted it too much,” the Newcastle manager said) does not take the shine off Howe’s magnificent achievement.
Newcastle had emerged to a tifo on the Gallowgate that told them “you entered the pitch as players, you left it as legends”, which reflected their Carabao Cup win while nodding to Champions League football being within touching distance.
And when they did get in behind Everton’s patched-up defence, they found a highly-motivated Jordan Pickford in superb form.
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Howe opted to roll the dice at half-time, reorganising his team to give them extra numbers in midfield by bringing on Joe Willock for the anonymous Anthony Gordon.
Twice Alcaraz tested Pope, the second of his efforts diverted by a wonderful sprawling save that sent his goal-bound effort wide. Yet it was only delaying the inevitable as Vitalii Mykolenko’s cross was met by the Argentine.
Isak sprung into life to test Pickford with a long-range effort but by then Everton were out of sight. Newcastle’s players slumped to the ground at the final whistle though the desolation was only temporary. Big Champions League nights are back on Tyneside.
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