Newcastle took a colossal step towards securing Champions League football next season at St.James' Park on Sunday, scoring in the opening and closing exchanges to defeat a Chelsea side who played with ten men for over an hour, but carried a threat until the final whistle.

A fevered atmosphere that belied the timing of the kick-off greeted the teams and the ground was then lifted into the stratosphere with less than two minutes played. 

That early explosion was prompted by Sandro Tonali's flicked finish at the Leazes End, before Bruno Guimaraes hoisted his shot into the Gallowgate net in the final seconds of normal time to seal the victory that move his side up one place into third. 

On identical points and goal difference with the visitors at kick-off, United failed to build on that early lead but were handed a further advantage when a yellow card shown to Nicolas Jackson for bludgeoning Sven Botman was upgraded to a red in the after a 35th minute pitchside VAR review.

Botman was one of two changes to the starting line-up that drew 1-1 at Brighton; brought into a three man defence at the expense of Kieran Trippier while Anthony Gordon replaced Joe Willock - neither of the two players omitted making the bench due to fitness concerns.

Those enforced changes prompted tactical tweaks beginning with a back three and what looked like the strongest possible strongest starting line-up at the expense of game changers on the bench.

Barnes and Gordon started a Premier League game together for the first time since October (at Everton when the latter was centre forward), while the forward runs infield by Tino Livramento glimpsed last weekend at Brighton were more pronounced today, unsettling the opposition.

The hosts were unable to press home their numerical superiority before the break and found Chelsea a rather different prospect after the interval, Cole Palmer pushing into the attack and his colleagues pressing Jacob Murphy on the right hand side of the home defence. 

That was exacerbated when the ailing Botman was replaced by Miley and after an uncomfortable 10 minutes, Emil Krafth appeared from the bench to take over at right back - Gordon's withdrawal allowing Harvey Barnes switch flanks to the left and Murphy shift upfield on the opposite side.

A home crowd who had roared their heroes on to the field grew increasingly tense as United dropped deeper and deeper and conceded a worrying number of corner kicks. The "what we have we hold" stance may have been partly influenced by another low profile display from Alexander Isak which prompted further social media speculation that he's counting down the days to surgery. 

Nick Pope denied both Marc Cucurella and Enzo Fernandez, while forgettable shooting and poor passing left United unable to exploit occasional sights of goal at the other end.

Bruno wastefully attempted to break the net with a first time volley from almost in the six yard box before Chelsea substitute Reece James botched a presentable header in the 88th minute.

Daylight was belatedly put between the sides though - on both the field and the league table - in the last seconds of normal time, Bruno atoning for his earlier profligacy with a shot from the edge of the box that flicked off a defender before looping over the helpless Robert Sanchez.

That clincher came from near the spot that Alan Shearer memorably netted against Chelsea back in April 2004 - and was equally celebrated - although we will admit to concerns that Bruno would get a second yellow for uprooting the Strawberry corner flag and raising it skywards in celebration.

The basis for this deserved victory came from United's fast start and while the red card aided our cause, their failure to grab that all-important second goal before the interval allowed Chelsea to regroup and regain the initiative to a worrying extent.

The second half was as nerve-jangling to watch as any game this season - including the Wembley win - our attempts to hold on to a slender lead against ten men prompting unwelcome thoughts of the last-gasp loss to Liverpool here in an identical situation last season.

Referee John Brooks struggled at times to deal with the cowardly antics of the visiting side, led by pantomime villain Cucurella. Given some of what went on here and the furious response of Fabian Schar to one sly dig, Joelinton's absence may have been a blessing - tempting as it was to imagine him wading in to seek vengeance.

The crowd undoubtedly played their part on one of those days when tackles were cheered as lustily as goals and the act of Chelsea even gaining possession was greeted by loud booing. The visiting boss also correctly referenced the wall of noise that swayed officials in the red card incident. 

United's Champions League aspirations received a further boost after Leicester City took a point from their visit to the City Ground - leaving Nottingham Forest four points behind the black and whites.

The weekend's fixtures then concluded with Arsenal sharing four goals at Anfield, leaving them just two points clear of United ahead of Sunday's visit to the Emirates. Ex-Magpie Mikel Merino will miss that reunion with his old team though, following his dismissal at Liverpool.

The prospect of ending an incredible season as runners-up is an enticing one, but regardless of what happens at Arsenal, the task of staying in the top five will be accomplished by defeating Everton at Gallowgate on the final day of the season. Bloody marvellous, frankly.  

Biffa