Context:

Newcastle United secured a 2-0 victory over Chelsea, enhancing their chances of qualifying for the UEFA Champions League. Sandro Tonali scored in the second minute, and Chelsea's situation worsened when Nicolas Jackson received a red card in the 35th minute. Despite Chelsea's efforts to adjust their strategy and perform well with a man down, they couldn't break through Newcastle's defense. Bruno Guimaraes sealed the win with a deflected goal in the final minute of regulation time. The result moves Newcastle to third place in the Premier League, trailing only Arsenal and Liverpool, while Chelsea faces the risk of dropping out of the top five depending on other results.

Dive Deeper:

• Newcastle United took advantage of a fast start with Sandro Tonali scoring in the second minute, setting the tone for the match against Chelsea.

• Nicolas Jackson's red card for violent conduct in the 35th minute left Chelsea with ten men, severely impacting their ability to compete effectively.

• Chelsea's manager Enzo Maresca made tactical changes at halftime, but his team struggled to find an equalizer against a strong Newcastle defense.

• Bruno Guimaraes added to Newcastle's lead with a goal in the final minute, which deflected off a Chelsea player, securing the 2-0 win.

• The victory placed Newcastle in third place in the Premier League standings, just one point behind Arsenal, significantly boosting their UEFA Champions League qualification hopes.

• Chelsea's position in the league standings is precarious, as they risk falling out of the top five if Nottingham Forest wins their upcoming match.

• The game saw Newcastle successfully implement a 3-4-3 formation, which played a crucial role in their dominance and eventual victory over Chelsea.

• Newcastle United took a huge step towards UEFA Champions League qualification as they beat 10-man Chelsea 2-0 at St James' Park.

• Sandro Tonali's second-minute goal ensured a dreadful start for Enzo Maresca's Conference League finalists, with Nicolas Jackson's 35th-minute red card compounding matters.

• Maresca reshuffled his side at halftime and Chelsea acquitted themselves well with reduced numbers. There was no way through, though, and Bruno Guimaraes' deflected strike in the final minute of normal time sealed the points.

• If Nottingham Forest beat Leicester later on Sunday, Chelsea will drop out of the top five with two matches remaining. Newcastle are up to third, above Manchester City and just a point behind Arsenal, who are in action away to champions Liverpool and host Eddie Howe's men next weekend.

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• Newcastle vs. Chelsea score

  	Fulltime	Goalscorers
  Newcastle	2	Tonali 2'
  Chelsea	0

  Venue: St James' Park, Newcastle
  Referee: John Brooks

• Keep track of every game and every goal via SN's live Premier League scoreboard

• Lineups:

• Newcastle (3-4-3, right to left): 22. Nick Pope (GK) — 4. Sven Botman (67. Lewis Miley), 5. Fabian Schar, 33. Dan Burn — 23. Jacob Murphy, 39. Bruno Guimaraes (36. Sean Longstaff), 8. Sandro Tonali, 21. Tino Livramento —11. Harvey Barnes. 14. Alexander Isak (9. Callum Wilson), 10. Anthony Gordon (17. Emil Krafth)

• Chelsea (4-2-3-1, right to left): 1. Robert Sanchez (GK) — 25. Moises Caicedo, 23. Trevoh Chalobah (27. Malo Gusto), 6. Levi Colwill, 3. Marc Cucurella — 45. Romeo Lavia (19. Jadon Sancho), 8. Enzo Fernandez — 7. Pedro Neto, 20. Cole Palmer, 11. Noni Madueke (24. Reece James) — 15. Nicolas Jackson

• MORE: All you need to know about Newcastle's plans to redesign the club badge

• Both teams headed into the high-noon kickoff level on 63 points in the Premier League, with Newcastle fourth by virtue of having scored more goals.

• Howe's side flew out of the blocks to extend that advantage and potentially open up something more meaningful when Tonali dispatched Jacob Murphy's second-minute cross.

• That goal and much of Newcastle's impressive work during the first half owed plenty to Howe's surprise switch to a 3-4-3 formation. 

• Chelsea were understandably frustrated, chasing shadows on a sun-drenched day in England's north east, although Jackson allowed his to boil over when he clashed with Sven Botman. 

• The Colombia forward was initially booked for his coming together with the returning Newcastle centre-back, but replays showed a clear look towards Botman before Jackson smashed a forearm into his face. Once referee John Brooks reviewed the pitchside monitor, he had little option but to brandish the red card.

• Maresca and Howe's game of shape-shifting continued after the break, with Chelsea captain Reece James coming on to complete a back three and Botman departing as Newcastle went to a back four.

• James went agonisingly close to an equaliser from an 88th-minute header before Guimaraes settled matters with a shot that looped home off Chelsea substitute Malo Gusto.

• Newcastle vs Chelsea stats

  Newcastle	Stat	Chelsea
  15	Shots	10
  6	Shots on target	3
  1.89	Expected goals	0.62
  44%	Possession	56%
  402	Passes	486
  2	Corners	8
  9	Fouls	13
  4	Yellow cards	2
  1	Red cards	0
  0	Offsides	0

  Newcastle vs. Chelsea live updates, highlights, and commentary

  Fulltime

  Newcastle are surely there now. Howe's side are up to third above Manchester City and just a point behind Arsenal. Chelsea will be without the suspended Nicolas Jackson for their final two games, which will be a four-team scrap between themselves, City, Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest, who the Blues play on the final weekend of the season. Thanks for joining us.

• 90 mins+1: Five minutes added on, which might have been more interesting than they'll prove to be.

• 90 mins: GOOOOOOAAAAAAAAALLLLLLL!!!!! Bruno Guimaraes!!!!!!!

• That settles it. A set piece is hung out wide to Burn, who brings it down and finds Guimaraes. Burn is screaming for a return pass down the line but Guimaraes cuts inside to let fly. The shot takes a wicked deflections off Gusto and loops beyond Sanchez into the far corner.

• 89 mins: Caicedo's multi-foul approach to proceedings brings about a skirmish. after which Krafth is booked.

• 88 mins: Reece James! Was that the chance?! The right-sided Chelsea defender glides forward into the box and glances over at the near post. James and his team have acquitted themselves nicely since halftime and that should have been the equaliser.

• 81 mins: Chelsea pushing Newcastle back again, Fernandez gets on the ball in the area after a nice switch from Neto and forces Pope to push a rising shot over the bar.

• 77 mins: Ohhhh, mistake from Barnes. Livramento pops a ball into the area, really good chance... and Barnes' touch is far too heavy and into Sanchez.

• 75 mins: Chances starting to flow again for Newcastle as Murphy dinks a ball just over Isak's head.

• 73 mins: Fine ball from Guimaraes in to Barnes, who is robbed by a superb Chalobah challenge.

• 70 mins: Ooohhh, that's a chance! Murphy lifts a ball into the box for Guimares, who Fernandez has boldly elected to ignore. Newcastle's Brazil midfielder smashes wide of the near post and should have done better.

• 67 mins: James whips a teasing ball across the face of goal.  No blue shirts can get there but it's another dangerous moment for the visitors, who plan with a man down is working.

• 62 mins: Excellent save from Pope! Chelsea have definitely looked better since halftime. Lavia finds Palmer, who spins a ball to Cucurella inside the Newcastle box on the left. He catches a left-footed strike that Pope is down sharply to repel.

• 61 mins: Fine work from Guimaraes, who finds Barnes and is entitled to expect a better return ball than the one his winger produced.

• 58 mins: Isak pulls behind Burn as a corner floats to the far post but Newcastle's star striker can't get hold of his effort on goal.

• 55 mins: Botman coming off after a successful return. Miley into the fray, which presumably means the hosts will revert back to their more familiar back four.

• 48 mins: Thankfully Livramento is going to be okay to continue.

• 46 mins: Oh dear, Livramento has landed very awkwardly there. The Newcastle medical staff are on. The sort of jarring landing that makes you fear serious knee damage.

• 2nd Half: Kickoff

  We're back underway. James is on for Madueke in a Chelsea change brought about by Jackson's red card.

• Halftime

  As you might expect, a cluster of Chelsea players approach Brooks at the break. When they see a replay of the Jackson-Botman incident, a few of them might quietly change their mind. Regardless, Marseca's side were thoroughly outplayed prior to the red card and Newcastle are excellent value for their lead.

• 45+1 mins: Into the first of six added minutes. Tonali makes another lovely run into a pocket of space inside the Chelsea box and finds Isak, who jinks past a challenge but runs out of room.

• 44 mins: The corner is worked short and dinked towards Burn, who can't get enough purchase on his header.

• 43 mins: Lovely lay-off from Guimaraes to put Barnes into the box. Chalobah's last-ditch challenge is similarly out of the top drawer.

• 40 mins: A rare Chelsea attack ends with a ball flashed past Neto across the face of goal.

• 37 mins: Ohhhhhh, close from Burn! Wonderful header from the big fella, that's just wide. The flag was up but I'm not sure.

• 35 mins: NICOLAS JACKSON IS SENT OFF! John Brooks was sent over to the monitor and once he saw images of Jackson check where Botman was and clatter an arm into his face, he had little choice. Three games for violent conduct, see you at the Club World Cup, Nicolas!

• 33 mins: Jackson careers into Botman and gets a yellow card. The replays show he hit the Newcastle defender in the face with a forearm. VAR having a look.

• 32 mins: Barnes storms through an almost entirely vacant Chelsea midfield. Where have they all gone? He slides a pass to Gordon, gets it back but his pass into the box isn't up to much.

• 26 mins: Barnes bustles through a few challenges in the Chelsea box. Impressive work but it means he's a little off-balance as he shoots at Sanchez.

• 22 mins: Sanchez gets away with a rogue pass into midfield as the referee spots an infringement. Chelsea go up the other end and win a corner. Once again, the hulking Newcastle backline deal with it with the minimum of fuss.

• 20 mins: Palmer has a shot blocked on the edge of the box. It comes back to him and his second effort is deflected wide. The corner comes to nought. Now Barnes chasing a long ball down the other end and Sanchez is out well to clear under pressure.

• 18 mins: A Chelsea attack of note in transition, with Neto finding Jackson thanks to a lovely pass. He gets around the outside of Murphy but the cross is over everyone in the middle.

• 13 mins: Every Newcastle attack has Chelsea players scrambling to get into position, seemingly unsure of where to press or who to pick up. You sense the hosts really need to capitalise here. Chalobah half-clears a cross aimed for Gordon. Guimaraes controls on his chest and volleys over the top.

• 11 mins: Chelsea winning that corner in the first minute feels like a lifetime ago. Newcastle are all over them. Sanchez gets down to take the ball off Guimaraes' toes just after Livramento went on a mazy run in the visiting box.

• 6 mins: Barnes is carrying on.

• 5 mins: The overloads Newcastle enjoyed in that opening goal were in part down to Eddie Howe's surprise decision to operate with a back three and wingbacks. It might be a brief experiment, though, as Barnes is down injured. 

• 2 mins: GOOOOOOOAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLL!!!! Sandro Tonali!!!!!

• Roof off at St James'. Gordon wants a penalty after he gets the run on Caicedo and takes a tumble. But Tonali is there to snaffle the second ball from Lavia, continues his run and dispatches Murphy's cross from the right.

• 2 mins: The corner is delayed as Burn and Jackon get themselves involves in some nonsense. Murphy gets up to clear Fernandez's delivery went it arrives.

• Kickoff: 1st Half

  Cole Palmer, who was so emphatically back on song last weekend, gets us underway. Pedro Neto makes an instant foray down the right to win a corner.

• 5 mins before kickoff: Here come the two teams, out at a sun-drenched and ebullient St James' Park for this midday kickoff,

• 30 mins before kickoff: Gordon and Barnes each being in the Newcastle lineup is also intriguing given Maresca's selection at right-back for Chelsea. Moises Caicedo will roam into his more natural position of central midfield in possession but expect Newcastle to try and pepper that flank whenever they get the chance, particularly given we have the unusual reality of two left wingers versus zero right backs.

• 1 hour before kickoff: The Newcastle team is interesting in terms of both personnel and potential shape. Sven Botman makes his first Premier League start since January in defence. As expected, Anthony Gordon is back in the starting XI but it's midfielder Joe Willock who makes way. That means Gordon and Harvey Barnes, who has deputised so effectively for the England winger of late, each start, with Gordon favourite to operate centrally off Alexander Isak but they could easily rotate positions.

• HOWAY NEWCASTLE! ✊ pic.twitter.com/upmuUzyd0O

• — Newcastle United (@NUFC) May 11, 2025 1 hr 15 mins before kickoff: The teams are in. Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca got another look at plenty of his fringe players in the midweek Conference League semifinal win over Djurgarden, but has elected to go with the same XI that beat Liverpool seven days ago.

• Team news is in! 👇📋#CFC | #NEWCHE pic.twitter.com/FuZfYzqeC3

• — Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) May 11, 2025 1 hr 40 mins before kickoff: Just when you think it's settling into some sort of order, this race for UEFA Champions League qualification takes another twist. Manchester City played a Southampton side who were still on course to be the worst Premier League team of all time before they frustrated Erling Haaland and co. by holding out for a 0-0 draw yesterday. A win for either Newcastle or Chelsea here would lift them above City into third, while that defeated team would drop down to sixth if Nottingham Forest beat relegated Leicester later on Sunday. If this one is a draw and Forest win, there will be two points between third and seventh with two games remaining. Oof!

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