Newcastle United kept their European hopes alive as they ended the 2023-2024 Premier League season with a thrilling 4-2 victory at Brentford. (More Football News)
The Magpies will qualify for the Europa Conference League if Manchester City beat cross-city rivals Manchester United in Saturday's FA Cup final.
After a positive start from Brentford, the visitors took the lead on 21 minutes through Harvey Barnes' header, and their advantage was soon doubled through Jacob Murphy.
Alexander Isak slotted beyond the goalkeeper to make it 3-0 before half-time, but the hosts responded after the interval thanks to goals from Vitaly Janelt and Yoane Wissa.
Bruno Guimaraes got Newcastle's fourth in the 78th minute to ensure the Geordies claimed the three points as they end the season in seventh place, whilst Brentford finish in 16th.
The Bees thought they had made the perfect start inside two minutes but after a VAR check Ivan Toney’s effort was ruled out by referee Simon Hooper for offside.
Toney continued to search for a goal against his former club but was denied by the outstretched leg of Nick Pope.
It was Newcastle, though, who should have taken the lead before the 10-minute mark as Isak set up an unmarked Joelinton from close range, but the Brazilian failed to convert.
The visitors then broke the deadlock on 21 minutes, with Barnes darting into the six-yard box to meet a delightful delivery by Guimaraes and head the visitors ahead.
Sean Longstaff thought he had quickly doubled their advantage, only to be flagged offside, but Murphy was not denied when he latched onto Isak's exquisite pass across the penalty area to make it 2-0.
Just two minutes later, Isak grabbed his 21st goal of the season when he fired past Mark Flekken.
The Brentford stopper ensured Isak did not extend Newcastle's advantage further with a smart stop to deny the Swedish international before half-time.
The home side responded after the interval and Janelt reduced the deficit, striking home after being picked out by Wissa.
Pope clawed away Toney’s header before Wissa curled a superb effort past the goalkeeper to set up a tense finale for the visitors.
The nerves, though, were soon settled when Guimaraes followed up a free-kick to ensure the points returned to Tyneside.
Brentford's home defence breached
Brentford end the season comfortably above the bottom three, after arguably their toughest campaign yet in the Premier League, having contended with key players and the talk of a potential relegation battle at the turn of the year.
The Bees could not finish on a high - instead they looked beaten before the half-time whistle, although they scored twice in the second half to test Newcastle's resolve.
Going into the match with a recent impressive home record, including having kept a clean sheet in the past three, Newcastle's attacking capabilities were too much for the hosts to handle.
It means Thomas Frank will have to wait to earn his 100th win in charge of the club, whilst Toney ends the season having not scored in his past 12 league games. However, Mathias Jensen did become the third Brentford player to reach 100 Premier League appearances.
Toon await news of European qualification
It has been an entertaining season for Newcastle, with more than 80 goals scored and over 60 goals conceded.
And the entertainment continued here. After being relieved that Toney's early goal was chalked off for offside, the Toon established a three-goal lead at the break mainly thanks to the individual brilliance of Isak.
It was a rare win on their travels for Eddie Howe’s side, whose patchy away form has proved costly in their quest to earn a top-six finish, with St James' Park providing the majority of their points.
The Magpies will now have a close eye on next weekend's FA Cup final between Manchester rivals United and City.
