Callum Wilson and Bruno Guimaraes served up a grandstand finish to take Newcastle to the brink of Champions League football with a resounding victory over Brighton.
Having seen Deniz Undav drag the Seagulls back into the game after his own goal and Dan Burn’s towering header had given the Magpies a 2-0 half-time lead, Wilson scored his 18th of the season and then set up Guimaraes to wrap up a 4-1 win at the death in front of a delirious crowd of 52,122 at St James’ Park.
Eddie Howe’s men will be assured of a top-four finish if Liverpool lose to Aston Villa on Saturday – even a draw might ultimately prove enough as a result of their superior goal difference – but can complete the job themselves in any case if they beat struggling Leicester on Tyneside on Monday evening.
ICON pic.twitter.com/MYlvYOMwKY — Newcastle United FC (@NUFC) May 18, 2023 For much of the game, this was not the Brighton which effectively ended Arsenal’s title challenge on Sunday, partly because of the absence of Levi Colwill, Alexis Mac Allister, Julio Enciso and Evan Ferguson from the starting line-up, but largely as a result of the relentless pressure exerted by their opponents.