Newcastle United secured a spot in next season's Champions League for the first time in 20 years after the goalless draw with Leicester City on Monday.
The point means the third-placed Magpies are four points clear of Liverpool, in fifth, heading into the final weekend of the Premier League season.
At the start of 2022, Newcastle looked set for relegation from the top-flight, now they will be playing in European club football's elite competition. We take a look at how they managed it.
Case for the defence
Newcastle's success has been built from the back with only champions Manchester City (31) conceding less than the 32 goals the Magpies have leaked over in their 37 games so far.
While manager Eddie Howe has tinkered with other areas of his side throughout the campaign, the defensive unit of Kieran Trippier, Fabian Schar, Sven Botman and Dan Burn – in front of goalkeeper Nick Pope – has remained largely untouched.
Full-backs Trippier and Burn have played 36 of 37 league games each, as has Pope, while centre-backs Schar and Botman have both appeared 34 times.
This stability has enabled Newcastle to become a formidable defensive outfit and incredibly hard to break down, only conceding more than two goals in a game twice all season – when Manchester City and Aston Villa managed to find the back of Pope's net three times.
It is not by accident that Trippier has been nominated for Premier League Player of the Season award while Botman is on the shortlist for the Young Player award.
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Newcastle head coach Eddie Howe celebrates with chairman Yasir Al Rumayyan after a 0-0 draw against Leicester City at St James Park on May 22, 2023, secured Champions League qualification. Getty Images -
Newcastle head coach Eddie Howe celebrates with co owner Amanda Staveley. Getty Images -
Newcastle player Miguel Almiron plays with his child on the pitch after the Premier League match. Getty Images -
Newcastle player Allan Saint-Maximin. Getty Images -
Newcastle fans wave scarves in the West Stand. Getty Images -
Newcastle's Sean Longstaff in action. Getty Images -
Newcastle's Bruno Guimaraes hits the post with a header. Getty Images -
Newcastle's Bruno Guimaraes is challenged by James Maddison of Leicester City. Getty Images -
Newcastle coach Jason Tindall smiles and makes a heart shape with his hands. Getty Images -
Newcastle defender Sven Botman chats with co-owner Amanda Staveley. Getty Images -
Newcastle United's Kieran Trippier during the lap of appreciation. Reuters -
Newcastle United coach Eddie Howe celebrates. Reuters -
Newcastle United fans celebrate. PA
Playing the market
There can be no denying the financial backing of the club's Saudi Arabian owners has been a key factor in the club's remarkable turnaround from one end of the table to the other.
But what also cannot be argued with is how wisely the £250 million-plus has been spent in the transfer market since the new owners arrived in October 2021.
The arrivals of Trippier, Chris Wood, Burn, Matty Targett, and Bruno Guimaraes in the 2022 January transfer window helped lift the club from the bottom three to mid-table security within five months.
Last summer, the squad was strengthened with the signings of Pope, Botman and striker Alexander Isak – the latter for a club-record fee of around £60 million – while Anthony Gordon joined from Everton in January.
Only David de Gea at Manchester United (17) has kept more clean-sheets than Pope's 14, while Botman's superb form has earned him a call-up to the senior Netherlands squad.
After an injury-hit start to the season, Swedish striker Isak quickly found his feet, scoring 10 goals in 20 games and was nominated alongside teammate Botman for the Premier League Young Player of the Season.
The jury is still out on £45 million winger Gordon but Howe has no doubt that the best is yet to come. “I can't wait to get a pre-season with him because that will be a game-changer for him because we can really get him integrated into our style and system of play,” Howe said last week.
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Joelinton celebrates with teammates Callum Wilson and Bruno Guimaraes after scoring the Newcastle United's second goal in their 4-1 Premier League win over Everton at Goodison Park, on April 27, 2023. Getty -
Newcastle manager Eddie Howe after the match. AP -
Callum Wilson curls home Newcastle's third goal. PA -
Newcastle players congratulate Alexander Isak after his remarkable assist to set up Jacob Murphy for the fourth goal. PA -
Newcastle goalkeeper Nick Pope watched Dwight McNeil's corner curl straight into the net. Getty -
Callum Wilson celebrates after scoring his second and Newcastle's third goal. Getty -
Joelinton heads home Newcastle's second goal. Getty -
Newcastle's Callum Wilson celebrates with teammates after scoring. PA -
Newcastle striker Callum Wilson puts Newcastle ahead ion the first-half. AFP -
Newcastle's Kieran Trippier after picking up a knock in the first half. AP -
Everton striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin scores just before half-time but had been caught offside. Getty -
Everton manager Sean Dyche. Reuters -
Newcastle's Callum Wilson finishes past Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford. AP
Revitalising the old guard
Success in the transfer market is one thing, but what Howe has managed to coax from players he inherited from the previous regime is testament to his managerial and coaching skills.
Swiss defender Schar had fallen out of favour with previous manager Steve Bruce but has become a mainstay of Howe's defence and his partnership with Botman one of the most reliable in the league.
Joelinton – once a laughing-stock striker who could not score – is now a monster box-to-box midfielder, while local boy Sean Longstaff – another who rarely played under Bruce – has become a vital cog in the engine room of Howe's team.
Paraguayan winger Miguel Almiron has reached double-figures in goals (11) for the first time since moving to the club in 2019, including a red-hot scoring streak of seven in seven games before the season stalled for the Qatar World Cup.
Up front, striker Callum Wilson has enjoyed a prolific end to the season, scoring 11 times in as many games to take his tally for the season to 18 in 29 – his highest top-flight total with one game still to play.
