Following the purchase of Newcastle United by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund a year ago, it was inevitable that Newcastle would develop into a squad capable of competing in the Champions League.
Few anticipated that it would occur so rapidly.
With a 2-1 win at Tottenham on Sunday, Newcastle climbed into fourth place in the Premier League — the final Champions League qualification position — in another statement of intent by the soccer team with the world’s richest ownership.
Newcastle has only lost once this season, and it happened at Liverpool following a sudden-death goal. Draws have occurred against Manchester United and, most recently, Manchester City.
This proves that the squad, which doesn’t have any true superstars yet but is incredibly well-prepared and has the best defensive record in the league thanks to manager Eddie Howe, is not simply a fluke.
Howe stated, “When you identify us with money, it detracts from the credit for the players.
I’ll defend them by saying that many of these guys were already here and that we wisely chose the players we hired. Instead of focusing on the composition of the team, let’s give credit where credit is due for the performance.
Miguel Almiron, one of the players at Newcastle during the club’s previous era under Mike Ashley, scored what ended up being the game-winning goal for his fifth goal in as many games.
The Paraguayan attacker did that in the 40th minute when he brushed off Ryan Sessegnon, ran past Clement Lenglet, another defender, and slipped a finish under Hugo Lloris.
Nine minutes earlier, after coming out to intercept a forward ball, Lloris was blocked off by Callum Wilson and went on to play a key role in Newcastle’s opening goal. With Lloris on the ground, Wilson collected the loose ball and chipped a left-footed shot over Lloris and Eric Dier into an empty net.
Tottenham, which had previously lost 2-0 to Manchester United in the middle of the week, got one back in the 54th minute thanks to Harry Kane.
Wilson remarked, “We’re keeping our feet on the ground, but things are slowly but surely falling into place.
Newcastle was winless and in previous season’s 19th place when the Saudi Arabian company PIF purchased the team.
Newcastle is currently in fourth place and seven points behind the league-leading Arsenal, which drew 1-1 with Southampton to stop its eight-match winning streak across all competitions.
Arsenal have only lost points in the league twice in their previous 11 games.
Granit Xhaka gave Arsenal the lead in the 11th minute, but Stuart Armstrong tied the score after the intermission.
Tottenham is a further three points behind Arsenal, who currently leads Manchester City by two points. It has been a good weekend for City, which beat Brighton 3-1 on Saturday..
Newcastle, owned by Saudi Arabia, advances into the Champions League.
About Author
