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Newcastle’s manager, Eddie Howe, described the club’s qualification for next season’s Champions League as a “massive moment” in their modern history, despite ending their Premier League campaign with a 1-0 home defeat to Everton on Sunday.
Charly Alcaraz scored the only goal of the match in the 65th minute with a well-placed header at St. James’ Park, but the result ultimately didn’t harm Newcastle’s European ambitions.
Thanks to Chelsea’s victory at Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa’s 2-0 loss to Manchester United, despite playing with 10 men, the Magpies secured fifth place in the table on goal difference, narrowly edging Villa in the race for Champions League qualification.
The top-five finish completes a memorable season for Newcastle, who also ended their long wait for silverware by lifting the League Cup — their first major trophy in 56 years.
“It feels fantastic — what we’ve achieved this season is huge,” Howe told the BBC. “Of course, losing the final match leaves a bit of a sour note, but looking back over the 38 games, we deserved this. It’s a massive step forward for the club.”
The Newcastle boss praised his squad’s effort and determination throughout the campaign: “We’ve got a great bunch of players who give everything week in, week out. That’s all we can ever ask. We wanted to win today, but it wasn’t our day.”
With Newcastle unable to find a breakthrough against Everton, fans turned their attention to results elsewhere — most notably at Old Trafford, where a United win over Villa would work in their favour.
Howe admitted he was aware of developments during the match but tried to remain focused on the task at hand.
“We were getting updates, but I didn’t want to let that affect my thinking too much,” he explained. “It was only when it became clear we were struggling to find the net in the second half that the other results took on more importance.”
He added, “With about five minutes left, we had a strong sense that — unless something dramatic happened—we were going to do it.”
