Football

Newcastle 5-1 Sheffield: Blades Relegated To Championship After Thrashing At St James Park

The kept Newcastle in seventh place, four points above West Ham in eighth, while the Blades sit bottom of the table after a 25th league defeat of the season

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Newcastle United's Alexander Isak Photo: File
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Sheffield United were relegated from the Premier League following a 5-1 thrashing by Newcastle United at St James' Park on Saturday. (More Football News)

Alexander Isak netted in both halves as the Magpies came from behind, with Bruno Guimaraes helping to complete the turnaround after Anel Ahmedhodzic's early opener.

Callum Wilson rounded off the scoring after Ben Osborn's own goal had taken the game away from Chris Wilder's side, sending them back to the Championship.

Newcastle stay in seventh place, four points above West Ham in eighth, while the Blades sit bottom of the table after a 25th league defeat of the season.

On a day when United needed to win, they got off to a fast start as Gustavo Hamer set up Ahmedhodzic for a close-range headed finish after just five minutes.

However, Isak equalised for the hosts as he scored for the seventh home game in a row, slotting into the bottom-left corner just before the half-hour mark.

The Blades regained momentum shortly after, and Ben Brereton Diaz saw a shot blocked on the line by Dan Burn before Mason Holgate flicked a header against the woodwork from the resulting corner as the teams headed into the break level.

However, Newcastle took advantage of some slack defending to put them ahead as Guimaraes netted his fifth goal of the season with an unmarked diving header.

Holgate then gave away a penalty for a clumsy challenge on Anthony Gordon just before the hour mark, which Isak confidently dispatched. United’s misery was further compounded just four minutes later when Osborn inadvertently flicked the ball into the back of his own net.

Wilson then rifled a fifth into the top-right corner to add further embarrassment as the Blades' relegation was confirmed.

Goal-happy Magpies

Across both Premier League meetings this season, Newcastle have scored 13 goals against the Blades, breaking a club record for the most goals scored against an opponent in a single campaign of the competition.

The previous record was 10 goals against United’s rivals Sheffield Wednesday, with the Magpies achieving that feat in the 1999-00 campaign.

The Magpies have also scored in all 18 of their Premier League home games this season, with their 48 goals in total their most at St James' Park in a top-flight campaign since 1996-97 (54).

United down and out

It has been a tough season for the Blades, who became the first team to have their relegation from the Premier League confirmed this season.

They sit bottom of the table with just 16 points after winning only three matches this season, conceding 97 goals, the most in a 38-game season in the competition's history.

Despite a spirited start to the game against Newcastle, United could not build on that to briefly extend their time in the Premier League, and they will be playing second-tier football next term.