NEWCASTLE qualified for the Champions League for the first time in 20 years after a 0-0 draw against relegation-haunted Leicester on Monday.
Fifth placed Liverpool’s draw with Aston Villa on Saturday meant Newcastle needed just one point from their last two games to be assured of a Champions League place.
Eddie Howe’s third placed side achieved their target at the first attempt at a jubilant St James’ Park.
Howe and his players embarked on a lengthy lap of honour after the final whistle as they soaked up the acclaim from the Toon Army.
Newcastle’s remarkable rise from relegation candidates to a top four finish in the Premier League in just 18 months is a tribute to Howe’s management and financial might of the club’s Saudi-backed ownership group.
The Magpies also reached the first domestic final since 1999 this season, losing to Manchester United in the League Cup.
After two decades in Premier League purgatory since Bobby Robson last led Newcastle into the Champions League, the Magpies will believe they can maintain their transformation into trophy contenders now they are back among Europe’s heavyweights.
Just seven years after their fairytale Premier League title triumph, Leicester are on the verge of being relegated from the top-flight for the 12th time in their history.
That would equal the English record held by Birmingham, sending them back to the Championship for the first time since 2014.
They sit two points behind fourth bottom Everton and will go down if the Toffees win their last game against Bournemouth, regardless of Leicester’s result in their final match against West Ham.
Leicester’s decline has been precipitous since winning the FA Cup for the first time in 2021, a campaign in which they finished fifth in the Premier League for a second successive season.
