Despite suffering a frustrating 1-0 defeat at home to Everton on the final day of the Premier League season, Newcastle have snatched the final Champions League spot.
St James’ Park was a cauldron of nerves and anticipation, with Newcastle’s destiny in their own hands.
And the Magpies started brightly, with early forays down the flanks involving Anthony Gordon and Jacob Murphy stretching the Everton backline.
However, the Toffees stood firm, and as the half wore on, it became a tale of missed chances and Pickford’s brilliance.
The former Sunderland goalkeeper was at the heart of it all, earning boos and jeers from the home faithful, but responding with an inspired performance.
31 minutes in, Pickford produced a superb double save – first denying Tonali’s low drive before reacting quickly to thwart Isak’s rebound.
Moments later, he pulled off an extraordinary stop to push Botman’s header over the bar, and then denied the same defender with an outstretched leg as Newcastle peppered the Everton goal.
UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE – WE ARE BACK! 🤩 pic.twitter.com/yoLutPa4Rg
— Newcastle United (@NUFC) May 25, 2025
For all of Newcastle’s 71.9% possession in the last 15 minutes of the first half, the deadlock was not broken, and St James’ Park began to sense that it could be one of those days.
Everton, for their part, carried a threat on the break, with Mykolenko and Harrison combining well down the left, and Alcaraz testing Pope just before the interval with a header that was brilliantly tipped over.
After the break, Newcastle’s intent did not waver, but Everton grew into the game and stunned the home fans in the 65th minute.
Mykolenko, dangerous all afternoon, swung in an inviting cross from the left, and Carlos Alcaraz rose to glance a header into the bottom-right corner.
As Newcastle pushed for an equaliser, news filtered through of goals elsewhere – a second for Manchester United against Aston Villa – which sparked relief around St James’ Park.
Despite Everton’s stout defending and Pickford’s continued heroics, which included stops from Isak and a late Guimaraes strike, Newcastle knew their place in Europe’s elite was safe if results held.
The final minutes were frantic, with Newcastle throwing everything forward. Schar, now practically an auxiliary striker, fired over, while Osula and Willock both went close but failed to find a breakthrough.
Everton held on to a hard-earned win that saw them secure 13th place, but the bigger news was the Toon’s ticket to the Champions League.
Premier League final day results, table
Here’s the full list of Premier League results from the final day of the season.
Bournemouth 2-0 Leicester
Fulham 0-2 Man City
Ipswich 1-3 West Ham
Liverpool 1-1 Palace
Man United 2-0 Villa
Newcastle 0-1 Everton
Forest 0-1 Chelsea
Southampton 1-2 Arsenal
Spurs 1-4 Brighton
Wolves 1-1 Brentford
