Newcastle thrash Brentford but must wait to discover their European fate
Newcastle ran riot at Brentford with their first-half goal glut securing seventh place but Eddie Howe must still wait to discover whether his team will play in Europe next season. Their attention turns to hoping Manchester City win the FA Cup next weekend which would hand Newcastle a place in the Europa Conference League.
Brentford started brightly but Ivan Toney’s early goal was disallowed and Newcastle’s potent attack soon struck. Harvey Barnes headed them in front before two goals in less than 90 seconds – from Jacob Murphy and the excellent Alexander Isak – appeared to give Newcastle complete control.
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Vitaly Janelt and Yoane Wissa’s exceptional effort roused Brentford in the second half but the influential Bruno Guimarães sealed victory for Newcastle to complete their highest‑scoring Premier League season – 85 goals for the crowd pleasers. Newcastle must now wait to see whether Manchester United win at Wembley to deny them European football.
Howe said: “Of course we’ll be hoping for a result that helps us but we can’t control it. We want those extra games in Europe. I’ve said it all season.” The Newcastle manager also confirmed the England hopeful Anthony Gordon will not fly out to Australia overnight for the club’s friendly matches this week, as a precaution, because of the winger’s ankle injury which kept him out of their closing victory.
Toney appeared to end his goal drought, stretching back to February for Brentford, after side-footing home from Bryan Mbeumo’s cross in the second minute but VAR intervened with the Cameroon attacker offside. The same Brentford pair combined again shortly afterwards, following a loose pass from Lewis Hall, with Mbeumo sliding Toney in but the striker’s shot was parried by Nick Pope.
Gareth Southgate was in attendance with the England manager casting his eye over potential players before selecting his provisional squad for Euro 2024 on Tuesday. Toney was unfortunate not to score but Thomas Frank is convinced he merits a place on the plane to Germany.
The Brentford manager said: “I think he should be in the squad. I think 100% he should. The most important thing is being physically fit and he’s definitely fit. He’s got better and better. His link-up play and hold‑up play was very good today. He’s doing everything right.
“I think he’s a little bit different and Ivan, even when he played two or three games for England, if you throw him on the pitch for a quarter-final or semi-final he’s the man for the big occasion. He’s also probably the best penalty taker in the world.”
A wild start in west London continued with Newcastle stirred into action but Joelinton somehow missed the target in front of the goal after Isak’s delivery from the right.
Newcastle opened the scoring midway through the half with Guimarães’s pinpoint cross headed in by Barnes. Sean Longstaff appeared to extend Newcastle’s lead with a low strike but the goal was quickly chalked off for an offside against Isak in the buildup.
Newcastle struck again twice in quick succession to leave Brentford toiling. A defensive mistake by Ethan Pinnock enabled Isak to race clear and set up Murphy for a close-range finish. Before Brentford had time to react, they conceded a third to deflate the home supporters.
Murphy offloaded to Guimarães and the midfielder played in Isak for a clinical finish past the goalkeeper Mark Flekken. Isak joined esteemed company in becoming the first Newcastle player to score 25 goals in all competitions in a season since Alan Shearer 20 years ago.
Brentford sparked hope of a comeback at the start of the second half with Janelt rifling a shot past Pope, the goalkeeper making his first appearance since December following a dislocated shoulder, after being set up by Wissa.
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Newcastle should have added a fourth goal when Fabian Schär’s free-kick was charged down but Isak poked the rebound wide from close range. But Brentford responded strongly and were denied another goal by Pope’s save from Toney’s header.
Brentford’s recovery gathered strength and they were rewarded with a stunning second goal. Toney flicked the ball on and Wissa cut in from the left to curl a shot past Pope.
Newcastle were awarded a penalty for a trip on Hall by Mbeumo but VAR ruled the foul took place outside the area. It did not matter, though, with Isak’s free-kick parried by Flekken and Guimarães poking home the rebound. The Brazilian midfielder celebrated by putting on a bucket hat thrown down from the fans – a shrewd move in the blazing sunshine to cap another high-scoring victory for Newcastle.
