Newcastle beat Chelsea to boost top-five hopes, Forest faltering

LONDON :Newcastle United beat Chelsea and Nottingham Forest dropped points again as a gripping battle for a top-five finish in the Premier League took more twists and turns on Sunday.

Champions Liverpool were given a guard of honour by second-placed Arsenal before the sides played out a 2-2 draw at Anfield, but the real intrigue was to be found elsewhere.

Newcastle took full advantage of Manchester City's failure to beat bottom club Southampton on Saturday as they enjoyed a 2-0 win over Chelsea to move into third place with 66 points.

With two games left Eddie Howe's side are now two points behind Arsenal and three points above sixth-placed Aston Villa. Newcastle face Arsenal away next Sunday.

The top five in the Premier League are all guaranteed to qualify for next season's Champions League.

Defeat for Chelsea, who played more than half the match with 10 men after Nicolas Jackson was sent off, left them in fifth place with 63 points, ahead of Villa only on goal difference.

Forest conceded late to draw 2-2 at home to already-relegated Leicester City and while that point guaranteed them European football next season, their hopes of playing in the Champions League are faltering. They have 62 points.

Newcastle have already ended a 70-year wait for a domestic trophy this season by winning the League Cup and are closing in on a return to the Champions League after a priceless victory against Chelsea at St James' Park.

Sandro Tonali's goal after two minutes put Newcastle ahead and a late Bruno Guimaraes effort wrapped up the victory.

While Newcastle were good value for their win, it was Jackson's moment of madness that robbed Chelsea of their best goal-scoring option in a game the UEFA Conference League finalists could not afford to