Newcastle United have qualified for the elite continental competition for the first time in almost two decades by clinching the third position in the 2022/23 Premier League campaign. We will go through the entire season and see how the Magpies secured the top-four finish in the strongest league on the planet while also reminding ourselves of the team’s previous European adventures. “Newcastle United’s remarkable ascent to the Champions League has been nothing short of a football fairytale. The club’s strategic investments in new talent, paired with the transformative leadership of head coach Eddie Howe, have brought a breath of fresh air to St. James’ Park”, said to us John Pentin editor in chief of betting expert portal Betting picks 4 you.
Start of an era
The new era for Newcastle began in October 2021 when the team were purchased by PIF (Public Investment Fund). The Governor of PIF and the new Chairman of Newcastle United is Yasir Al-Rumayyan. This huge ownership change immediately made Newcastle one of the hottest prospects of English football with the money at PIF’s disposal.
We have seen some exciting signings at St. James’ Park ever since, none of which were sensational, though. Nevertheless, even the existing additions, paired with the whole new atmosphere in and around the club, were enough for the team to blossom in the 2022/23 Premier League campaign.
Matt Target, Kieran Trippier, Dan Burn, Chris Wood, and Bruno Guimaraes were the most enticing arrivals in the 2021/22 transfer window. The next window saw the team adding the likes of Nick Pope and Sven Botman, while the final two transfers were those of Anthony Gordon and Alexander Isak. Each of the mentioned players apart from Gordon has played a massive role in the Magpies’ journey to a top-four finish in the Premier League.
Last but not least, we must mention the appointment of Eddie Howe as the new head coach as the former Bournemouth boss has done a genuine miracle by taking this group of players to a whole new level in the 2022/23 season.
The Magpies’ European History
Newcastle do not have a famous European history. This will be their only fourth-ever Champions League appearance. Their best campaign in the elite continental competition came in the 2002/03 season when they advanced from the first group phase by coming second to Juventus in a group that also had the likes of Dynamo Kyiv and Feyenoord. Nonetheless, they failed to get past the second group stage (now defunct) by finishing third in the section with Barcelona, Inter Milan, and Bayer Leverkusen.
The team’s most recent Champions League adventure happened in the following season when they were eliminated on penalties by Serbian champions Partizan Belgrade in the third qualifying round. Interestingly, it was the season in which Newcastle made it to the UEFA Cup semifinal where they fell 0-2 on aggregate to Marseille, previously eliminating Mallorca and PSV Eindhoven in the process.
Newcastle’s lone European trophy came in the 2001/02 Intertoto Cup when the Magpies defeated Lokeren, 1860 Munich, and Troyes en route to silverware. Their latest episode in Europe was the 2012/13 Europa League campaign when the Magpies reached the quarterfinal to lose 2-4 on aggregate to Benfica.
A stalemate against the champions at the start of the season
Finally, we come to the start of the 2022/23 season. Newcastle went through preseason with four wins in six games and nothing suggested a spectacular campaign after the defeats to Mainz and Benfica in exhibitions in July 2022. Eddie Howe’s troops hosted top-flight newcomers Nottingham Forest at the start of the Premier League season. They offered a marvelous display at St. James’ Park, obliterating the rivals throughout the whole 90 minutes in what ended as a 2-0 victory via goals from Fabian Schar and Callum Wilson.
The opening win was backed up with a goalless draw to Brighton at The Amex. The first serious signs of a genuine progression were seen in Gameweek 3 when Howe’s men held the reigning champions Manchester City to a 3-3 draw in an eventful affair at St. James’ Park. The first loss of the season came in Matchday No 5 when Newcastle fell 2-1 to Liverpool at Anfield after a second-half comeback and a 98th-minute goal by Fabio Carvalho.
A run of five straight winless affairs
The loss to Liverpool was part of the team’s streak of six straight winless affairs. Newcastle had to wait until Gameweek No 9 to record their second win of the season. Miguel Almiron starred with a brace at Craven Cottage as the Magpies left the capital with a 1-4 victory over another promoted side Fulham. We can consider such a comprehensive win as a turning point as it was backed up with a 5-1 demolition of Brentford at St. James’ Park with a brace from Bruno Guimaraes.
A point at Old Trafford amid a series of wins
The two-win thread came to an end in a goalless draw to Manchester United on October 16th at Old Trafford. Nonetheless, Newcastle quickly returned to the old ways by beating Everton, Spurs, Aston Villa, Southampton, and Chelsea to finish the first half of the season on a high.
Strong post-World Cup defensive form
Eddie Howe’s team continued from where they stopped before the World Cup in Qatar by beating Bournemouth in the last 16 round of the EFL Cup. They then stormed past Leicester 0-3 at King Power on Boxing Day before back-to-back goalless draws to Leeds and Arsenal. Newcastle moved to the League Cup semifinal by beating Leicester once again (2-0) while Alexander Isak brought them back to winning ways in the Premier League in a 1-0 home success against Fulham on January 15th. Newcastle completed a run of six straight clean sheets in the league with a goalless draw to Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park. The Magpies did not stop there as they picked up home and away wins over Southampton in the League Cup semifinal to book tickets for the final of the competition against Manchester United.
Drop in form and the loss in the cup final
We now come to the first (and probably only) serious drop in the team’s form in the whole season. Newcastle have taken just two points from Gameweek 22 to Gameweek 26, also losing to the Red Devils 2-0 in the EFL Cup final in the process.
Final push & rise in attacking form
Another big turning point for the team’s season came when Miguel Almiron found the late winner in a 2-1 victory over Wolves to get the Magpies back on winning ways. Since then, Howe’s men managed victories over Nottingham Forest (including Isak’s winner in the third minute of added time), West Ham (1-5 at London Stadium), and Brentford (Isak’s second-half winner).
The streak was stopped with a tough 3-0 loss to Unai Emery’s Aston Villa in Birmingham but only for Newcastle to rebound with a 6-1 hammering of Tottenham Hotspur. The Magpies have then scored seven more goals in back-to-back wins over Everton and Southampton before playing a 2-2 stalemate at Leeds. The win that probably confirmed the Magpies’ place in the top-four was a 4-1 thumping of in-form Brighton on May 18th. A goalless draw to Leicester in the penultimate Matchday mathematically secured the Champions League football for the Magpies, leaving the final day fixture against Chelsea (a 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge) completely meaningless.