Rafael Benitez succeeded in his gamble of staying on as manager as on Monday he steered Newcastle United straight back up to the English Premier League with a 4-1 win over Preston North End.
The former Liverpool, Chelsea and Real Madrid manager stayed on after they were relegated to the Championship at the end of last season and even though Newcastle stumbled of late, the victory over Preston guaranteed a top-two finish.
The Magpies became only the seventh team out of 18 to go straight back up in the past six years.
Photo: Reuters
They join Brighton and Hove Albion — who were assured of promotion on Monday last week — in the top tier next season.
For 57-year-old Benitez there was a glimmer of a smile at the end — although he is not known for wearing his heart on his sleeve — and a qualified response as to whether he would remain with the club.
He was known not to be satisfied at the lack of investment in players in the January transfer window.
“I think I will have to analyze a lot of things, but I’m really pleased here,” Benitez told Sky Sports. “So hopefully we can do what we have to do to be stronger in the Premier League.”
Benitez said it had been a tough old battle and the heat of competition had been intense.
“It wasn’t easy at all,” he said. “You have seen a lot of teams in this competition knew what to do. We had to fight from the start and played some very good football sometimes, some not so good at times, but in the end we go up. I think from the last day of the last season, I wanted to show my loyalty to everyone here.”
A crowd of more than 50,000 had endured a nervy first half as the Magpies once again looked tense. Things had looked on course for an easy passage when Ayoze Perez scored in the sixth minute, but the visitors leveled soon after with a stunning goal from Jordan Hugill.
The hosts floundered for most of the rest of the half until Christian Atsu, on loan from Chelsea, tucked the ball home in the 45th minute.
Any doubts about the result were dispelled in dramatic fashion in the 64th minute when Paul Gallagher handled on the line and was sent off, with the reliable Matt Ritchie tucking away the penalty.
The memorable night was rounded off when Perez added his second.
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