Jamaal Lascelles completed a journey from the brink of Premier League disaster to European football’s top table as he led Newcastle to a stunning Champions League victory over Paris St Germain.
The 29-year-old defender was one of three men in the Magpies’ starting line-up for Wednesday night’s remarkable 4-1 Group F victory over the French champions at St James’ Park, who was also in the XI for head coach Eddie Howe’s first game in charge in November 2021, a 3-3 league draw with Brentford.
At that point the club, which had just been taken over by Amanda Staveley’s Saudi-backed consortium, sat in 19th place in the table, but has since invested around £370million in new players, a recruitment drive which has seen club captain Lascelles slip down the pecking order until an injury to Sven Botman threw him back into the spotlight.
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Asked about club captain Lascelles’ performance against PSG, Howe said: “I’m so pleased for Jamaal. I said countless times last year how good his attitude was, how well he trained, how good he’d been for the group.
“But ultimately he’s desperate to show how good he is on the pitch. The biggest compliment I can pay him is that he’s stepped in and he’s really stepped up to the challenge and I think he’s performed really, really well in the last group of games that we’ve had.
“He had to train so well to continue to develop his game when he wasn’t playing and my inner belief was always that he could improve with the team even though he wasn’t in the starting XI, and his game was in a really good place.
“I think he proved that tonight, so we’re delighted for him. It’s a real testament to his attitude and his character.”
Lascelles, who had joined Newcastle in a joint deal with keeper Karl Darlow in August 2014, emerged as a leader from the wreckage of the club’s slip into the Sky Bet Championship in 2016, providing a defiant voice in the dressing room as a 22-year-old to prompt then-manager Rafael Benitez to hand him the armband.
He helped Benitez’s side to win promotion at the first attempt, but has found his chances limited since the influx of signings under the new owners, with Kieran Trippier deputising as captain in his absence.
However, he was a rock at the heart of a team which dumped treble-winners Manchester City out of the Carabao Cup last Wednesday evening and similarly resolute as Kylian Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele, Goncalo Ramos and Randal Kolo Muani came calling a week later.
That provided the foundation upon which a famous victory was built courtesy of goals from Miguel Almiron, Sean Longstaff, Dan Burn and – after Lucas Hernandez had pulled one back – Fabian Schar.
Asked if that kind of result had featured even in his wildest dreams, Howe said: “I thought it was an even game. I thought they had some moments where they hurt us, I thought we had some moments where we hurt them.
“But to score four goals wasn’t necessarily something that we expected to do, but I’m just delighted that we were able to do that in front of our supporters. It’s a very special night.”
Burnley 1-4 Newcastle United: Clarets’ survival hopes take a hit as Magpies soar at Turf Moor
Burnley’s hopes of a great escape took a huge blow as they were hammered 4-1 by a rampant Newcastle United at Turf Moor.
Having gone unbeaten in three Premier League matches heading into Saturday’s clash, Burnley had hoped to leapfrog Luton Town – who drew with Everton on Friday – into 18th.
Yet their survival hopes are now dangling by a thread after Newcastle turned on the style – Callum Wilson, Sean Longstaff and Bruno Guimaraes sending Eddie Howe’s side into a three-goal lead by half-time.
Alexander Isak atoned for a penalty miss by scoring his 20th league goal of the season early in the second half, with Dara O’Shea grabbing a late consolation for Burnley as the Magpies moved above Manchester United into sixth place.
It was not all plain sailing for Newcastle. Martin Dubravka had to be alert early on to smother an attempt from Jacob Bruun Larsen, before Lorenz Assignon had a penalty appeal turned down after his weaving run was halted by Guimaraes.
Yet Newcastle hit the front after 19 minutes, with Wilson on hand to tap home after Arijanet Muric denied Isak from point-blank range.
Muric made a fantastic stop to deny Tino Livramento, but Burnley’s goalkeeper could do nothing to prevent Newcastle doubling their lead when Jacob Murphy’s cutback was slotted into the bottom corner by Longstaff.
It was game over five minutes before the break – Assignon’s error resulting in Anthony Gordon teeing up Guimaraes for a straightforward finish from just inside the box.
Lyle Foster lashed over at the end of a promising Burnley move as the Clarets searched for a swift response after the break, though their defensive frailties were soon exposed again.
Josh Brownhill foolishly tugged on Gordon’s shirt as the winger drove into Burnley’s box from the left, and referee Anthony Taylor duly pointed to the spot.
Muric made a fine save to thwart Isak, with play eventually continuing after a VAR check for possible encroachment.
Once proceedings did resume, Isak got his goal, coolly firing in after he was picked out by Murphy to complete the rout, with O’Shea heading in late on to reduce the arrears for Burnley.
Wilson going out in style?
It looks as though Wilson’s time at Newcastle could well come to an end after the season, with Howe having suggested the striker will be allowed to leave should the right offer come in.
But handed a rare start alongside Isak, the former Bournemouth man was excellent in leading Newcastle’s line and tormenting Burnley’s defence. He was in the right place at the right time to open the scoring, and also played a crucial role in the visitors’ second, when he held up the play before releasing the onrushing Murphy.
Wilson's goal was his 47th Premier League goal for Newcastle, meaning he is second to only the legendary Alan Shearer (148) when it comes to the Magpies’ goalscorers in the competition.
A mention for Gordon, too. He has become the third Newcastle player to register double figures for both goals and assists in a single Premier League campaign, after Andrew Cole in 1993-94 (34G 13A) and Ruel Fox in 1994-95 (10G 11A).
Relegation beckons?
With Nottingham Forest having claimed a big win over already-relegated Sheffield United, it looks increasingly likely that the three promoted teams are all heading straight back down to the Championship.
Burnley, who face Tottenham and Forest in their final two matches, are two points behind 18th-placed Luton, who themselves are three behind 17th-placed Forest, and Vincent Kompany cut a glum figure on the touchline.
There are no such fears for Newcastle, who host Brighton next before taking on Man United in what looks set to be a pivotal game in the hunt for Europa League qualification.
Ipswich Town promoted to Premier League after 22-year absence
Ipswich Town secured their return to the Premier League after a 22-year absence by seeing off Huddersfield Town 2-0 at Portman Road on Saturday.
Kieran McKenna's side, who only earned promotion from League One last year, required a point on the final day of regular-season fixtures.
Wes Burns put Ipswich on their way with a 27th-minute strike, before Omar Hutchinson sealed the deal early in the second period.
As it turned out, even a loss would have seen Town go up as Leeds failed to pick up the three points they needed in a 2-1 loss to Southampton.
Joel Piroe cancelled out Adam Armstrong's goal, but Will Smallbone restored the visitors' lead before half-time at Elland Road and at it remained that way.
Leeds will now face Norwich City in the play-offs after the Canaries dropped from fifth to sixth with a 1-0 loss to Birmingham City.
West Brom's 3-0 win over Preston North End ensured they finished the season in fifth, meaning a play-off semi-final date with Southampton.
Despite their home win over Norwich, Birmingham joined Rotherham United and Huddersfield Town in being relegated to the third tier.
That is due to Plymouth Argyle defeating top-six chasers Hull City 1-0, while Sheffield Wednesday eased to a 2-0 victory at Sunderland.
Rotherham's relegation was confirmed last month, while Huddersfield were effectively already down barring a miraculous set of results on the final day.
Arsenal 3-0 Bournemouth: Gunners put pressure back on Man City in title race
Arsenal put the pressure back onto Manchester City in the Premier League title race after their comprehensive 3-0 triumph over Bournemouth at Emirates Stadium.
Mikel Arteta's side moved four points clear at the league summit with this victory but Man City have two games in hand, the first of which comes at home to Wolves later on Saturday.
Bukayo Saka opened the scoring from the penalty spot on the stroke of half-time, with Arsenal securing a deserved reward for their first-half dominance.
Leandro Trossard and Declan Rice made sure of three points with late finishes as defeat left Bournemouth – who had an Antoine Semenyo strike ruled out in the closing stages – 10th in the table.
A flowing Arsenal move almost ended in Trossard converting Ben White's 10th-minute cross, only for a last-gasp Marcos Senesi block to thwart the Belgium forward.
Bournemouth had Mark Travers to thank soon after as the goalkeeper denied fizzing efforts from Kai Havertz and Saka, as well as a one-on-one with William Saliba.
Travers' one-man resistance continued when pushing away Thomas Partey's low left-footed curling attempt before Rice fired narrowly wide following Havertz's delicate header.
Yet Arsenal finally got their breakthrough as Travers felled the marauding Havertz – with the VAR confirming the spot-kick decision – before Saka coolly swept into the bottom-left corner from 12 yards.
Saka should have doubled his tally after the interval but arrowed a glorious opportunity straight at Travers following a smart offload from Havertz, who went close minutes later.
The otherwise unneeded David Raya was forced into action at the other end to deny Dominic Solanke after 53 minutes, while Justin Kluivert whipped a free-kick just over.
That spell of Bournemouth pressure came to an abrupt end with 20 minutes to go when Rice twisted to play through for Trossard, who slotted a smart right-footed finish into the bottom-right corner.
The Cherries thought they had snatched a goal back just three minutes later but Semenyo's rebounded strike after Ryan Christie hit the crossbar was ruled out for a Solanke foul on Raya, with the VAR confirming the on-field decision.
Arsenal then suffered a similar fate with the officials as Gabriel Magalhaes' rocketed volley was disallowed for offside, but Rice was not to be denied in stoppage-time as he fired Gabriel Jesus' throughball under the helpless Travers.
Advantage Arsenal thanks to super Saka
Arsenal have won 14 of their 16 Premier League games so far in 2024, dropping points only against Man City (0-0) and Aston Villa (0-2) this year.
That incredible run of form ensures a tantalising title race will continue towards the final two games of the season, when Arsenal travel to Manchester United and then host Everton on the last day.
Their success this term can be somewhat apportioned to star winger Saka, who became the first player to score 20 goals for Arsenal in a season across all competitions since Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in 2019-20 (29 goals).
Saka is also the first Englishman to do so for the club since Theo Walcott in 2012-13 (21 goals) as the England international continues to deliver in key moments for the Gunners.
Cherries blunted by dominant Gunners
Bournemouth had won 1-0 at Wolves and 3-0 against Brighton in their last two Premier League games before this – but they have never triumphed in three consecutive top-flight games without conceding.
A wait for three straight such victories will go on into next season, though Andoni Iraola will look back on this campaign with fond memories.
They have never won more matches in a top-flight season than their 13 in 2023-24 (also 13 in 2018-19) and – despite this underwhelming performance – will have another chance to set an outright club record when they host Brentford before visiting Chelsea on the final day, with a top-half finish still possible.
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