Newcastle win top-five showdown with Chelsea, Forest held to damaging draw

LONDON: Newcastle took a huge step towards qualifying for the Champions League with a vital 2-0 victory over top-five rivals Chelsea, while Nottingham Forest were held to a costly 2-2 draw by Leicester on Sunday.

Sandro Tonali put Newcastle ahead after just two minutes at St James´ Park before Chelsea striker Nicolas Jackson was sent off for an elbow on Sven Botman late in the first half. Bruno Guimaraes struck in stoppage time to secure the Magpies´ seventh win from their last nine league games and lift them into third place in the Premier League.

Eddie Howe´s side, aiming to feature in the Champions League for the second time in three seasons, are three points clear of sixth-placed Aston Villa in the race for a top-five finish. League Cup winners Newcastle travel to Arsenal next weekend, before hosting Everton in their last two matches.

“We hung in there. We got over the line and that´s the major thing in a game like today,” Howe said. Fifth-placed Chelsea´s first defeat in seven league games leaves their bid to return to Europe´s elite club competition in the balance.

The Blues are level on points with sixth-placed Aston Villa and one ahead of seventh-placed Forest. With Manchester United at home and Forest away left on their schedule, Enzo Maresca´s UEFA Conference League finalists face a tense finish to their top-five challenge.

“It´s already difficult 11 v 11 in this stadium against this team so playing an hour with 10 players is not easy,” Maresca said. Forest suffered a massive setback in their Champions League bid as relegated Leicester snatched a draw at the City Ground.

Nuno Espirito Santo´s side fell behind in the 16th minute when Leicester defender Conor Coady headed home the rebound after Matz Sels saved Bilal El Khannouss´s shot. Morgan Gibbs-White netted with a header from Anthony Elanga´s free-kick in the 25th minute. And Gibbs-White followed his first goal in 12 games by delivering a perfect cross for Chris Wood to put Forest in front with a diving header in the 56th minute.

But Leicester rocked their midlands rivals in the 81st minute as Facundo Buonanotte equalised with a fierce finish. Manchester United slumped to a 2-0 home defeat West Ham as their woeful league campaign hit a new low.

United were back in action after crushing Athletic Bilbao in the Europa League semi-final second leg on Thursday to set up an all-English final against Tottenham on May 21. But Amorim has acknowledged United “can´t save anything from the Premier League” this term and once again they produced a wretched display as West Ham won for the first time in nine games. Tomas Soucek´s 26th-minute tap-in from Mohammed Kudus´s cross gave West Ham the lead.

United lost Leny Yoro to a foot injury in the second half, raising doubts about the French defender´s chances of featuring in the Europa League final. Jarrod Bowen converted Aaron Wan-Bissaka´s pass to grab the second goal in the 57th minute. West Ham moved above United, who are languishing in 16th place as they face their lowest league finish since being relegated in 1973-74.