Newcastle United’s bid to qualify for the Champions League took a hit at the weekend, but fortunately an important result went our way.
Hours after Newcastle were trounced 3-0 by Aston Villa, Tottenham Hotspur had the chance to go level on points with Eddie Howe‘s side.
That looked like a distinct possibility up against relegated threatened Bournemouth, but Spurs absolutely blew it.
Cristian Stellini’s side took an early lead, but squandered it as the Cherries rallied. They turned the game round to lead 2-1 going into the final stages.
An 88th minute equaliser from Arnaut Danjuma looked set to drag Spurs closer to Newcastle, but there was another twist in the tale. Dango Ouattara scored in the 95th minute to hand Bournemouth victory, which was great news for their survival aspirations, and a brilliant result for Newcastle’s top four hopes.
Manchester United’s win over Nottingham Forest puts them back into third, but the most important result for Newcastle is Tottenham’s defeat. They had the chance to go level on 56 points going into next weekend’s meeting at St James’ Park, but completely fluffed it.
Neville thinks Tottenham have ‘messed up’ Champions League qualification
After Sunday’s Premier League action, Gary Neville spoke to Sky Sports’ YouTube channel about the weekend’s results.
He discussed Tottenham’s loss to Bournemouth, and how it will hinder their chances of finishing in the top four.
“They’re now going to struggle to get into the top four,” he said.
“I did think they had a chance of finishing in the top four to be fair, because I thought Newcastle would drop points along the way. I thought [Manchester] United would drop points as well.
“But they’ve really messed it up. They really have messed it up this last part of the season.”
Neville then commented on Newcastle losing to Aston Villa, and heaped praise on Unai Emery’s side rather than taking aim at the Magpies.
“Yesterday I thought was absolutely brilliant [from Villa],” he said.
“The performance was electric. Ollie Watkins – obviously I know he’s a good player, but it has really surprised me the level he has got to.
“Newcastle are a pretty mean defence – meanest in the league. And I thought he absolutely killed them, I thought he destroyed them. Could have had more.”
Huge game at St James’ Park for Newcastle
Next weekend was already big, but it feels absolutely massive now. There would have been a sense of fear if the game kicked off with both teams level on 56 points.
Instead, we go into the fixture with a three point lead, boasting the chance to make it six with a game in hand.
Champions League qualification is very much in our own hands, which is an incredible achievement so late in the season.
Yes, we were beaten on Saturday by Aston Villa. Yes, we got absolutely battered. But a lot of the praise has to go to Aston Villa, who absolutely blew us away. While we played poorly, they were sensational and deserve the plaudits.
Newcastle need a response on Sunday, up against a team who have ‘messed up’ qualifying for the Champions League in the eyes of Gary Neville.
Receive a digest of our best Newcastle content each week direct to your mailbox
