Newcastle United beat Chelsea to move third in Premier League
What's the story
Newcastle United beat 10-man Chelsea 2-0 in matchweek 36 of the Premier League 2024/25 season at St James' Park on Sunday.
With this win, Newcastle have moved to third in the Premier League standings, going above Manchester City.
Chelsea saw the hosts get an early lead before their hopes were dashed with a player being sent off.
Chelsea offered more in the 2nd half but Newcastle killed the contest late on. Here's more.
First half
Newcastle take lead, Chelsea see Jackson get sent off
Newcastle took the lead through Sandro Tonali in the 2nd minute to hand Newcastle a dream start.
He won the ball off midfielder Romeo Lavia deep in the Chelsea half.
Bruno Guimaraes moved the ball out wide to Jacob Murphy, who crossed the ball into the box where the former Milan midfielder arrived to tap it in from close range.
In the 36th minute, Chelsea saw Nicolas Jackson get sent off. After an initial yellow card, the VAR asked the referee to go to the pitchside monitor.
Information
Match stats from the first half
Newcastle managed four shots on target in the first half compared to Chelsea's 0. Howe's side had 1.14 expected goals with Chelsea managing 0.44. Newcastle dominated ball possession (57%) and had 26 touches in the opposition box. Chelsea had nine such touches.
2nd half
Summary of the 2nd half
Newcastle looked a bit slow and flat in the 2nd half. Chelsea with 10 men proved to be difficult for the hosts to break them down. Chelsea's shape also caused Newcastle issues.
In the 62nd minute, Newcastle keeper Nick Pope was called in to make a smart save.
For the Magpies, Harvey Barnes missed a glorious opportunity in the 78th minute with only the goalkeeper to beat.
Pope then denied Enzo Fernandez as Chelsea ramped up the pressure.
However, it was Guimaraes' 90th minute goal that helped Newcastle breathe.
PL
Newcastle go above City as race for UCL heats up
Newcastle claimed their 20th win of the season to get to 66 points after 36 matches.
Eddie Howe's men are one point above Man City (65) and a point below Arsenal (67). Notably, Arsenal face Liverpool later tonight.
Meanwhile, Chelsea (63 points) remain 5th with this defeat and currently occupy the last Champions League place for next season.
However, if Nottingham Forest (61 points) defeat Leicester City on Sunday, they will go above the Blues. Chelsea will slip to 6th.
UCL
Top five teams will qualify for UCL from Premier League
Earlier, the Premier League and La Liga were rewarded with an extra place in next season's UEFA Champions League (UCL) based on performance in Europe this season.
So 5 teams will qualify from these leagues. Notably, the Premier League is set to have six teams in 2025/26 UCL after Manchester United and Spurs reached the Europa League final.
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A look at the Newcastle-Chelsea match in numbers
Newcastle had 5 shots on target from 15 attempts. Chelsea managed 10 attempts with three shots on target. Newcastle had 39 touches in the opposition box to Chelsea's 23. Chelsea owned 55% ball possession.
Opta stats
A look at the key records made
For the first time since the 2002-03 Premier League season, Newcastle have claimed 20-plus wins in a campaign.
Chelsea have lost six of their last 9 away matches in the Premier League this season.
Alongside Brentford, Newcastle have now scored four goals this season inside the opening two minutes of a match (joint-highest).
Newcastle have won 8 of their last 12 home matches versus Chelsea (D1 L3).
Twitter Post
Win!
A huge victory for @NUFC that lifts them up to third place 🪜#NEWCHE pic.twitter.com/hTZf5BPOx0
— Premier League (@premierleague) May 11, 2025