Newcastle's victory over their top-four opponents closes the distance on Arsenal.

In the race for Champions League football, Newcastle defeated top-five opponents Chelsea, who had Nicolas Jackson sent off, 2-0 with goals in either half.

 The match was regarded as a season-defining encounter between two teams that may close the gap on second-place Arsenal, as they were locked on 63 points apiece in the Premier League table prior to kickoff.

But the opening half was a clear mismatch, evident within the first 110 seconds when Sandro Tonali ghosted in at the back post to score after Romeo Lavia was robbed of possession deep in his own half.

 If Newcastle wanted to put some distance between themselves and the opposing team, they succeeded. This increased their chances of qualifying for the Champions League while dealing a crushing blow to Chelsea, who tried to rally in the second half but had fewer players to contend with.

After VAR summoned John Brooks to the monitor in the 35th minute, the on-field referee upgraded his initial yellow card to red for Jackson's elbow on Sven Botman, which resulted in a straight red card.  Marc Cucurella put Nick Pope to the test as Chelsea pressed, and Reece James nodded in response to Malo Gusto's cross.  However, the day was Newcastle's.

Later in the game, Bruno Guimaraes broke Chelsea's resistance once more to seal the victory for Eddie Howe's team, who now have as many points as champions Liverpool (46) in their last 21 games and are in a strong position to finish in the top four with two games left, moving up to third place in the standings.

Maresca claims that crowd noise is what made Jackson red.

"The game has undoubtedly been impacted by the red card.  It's already challenging to play against this team at this stadium, and it gets increasingly worse if you give them an extra player.

 However, we had three excellent opportunities altogether, particularly in the second half.  It's difficult when there are ten players.  Regarding the red card, I believe that it is a red card if the referee makes that decision.

 "The only issue is that in some stadiums, the noise level is more important in determining if something is foul or not.

 "I didn't talk to Nico (Jackson) after that because it wasn't the right time.  We'll probably talk to Nico the following day."

Howe: The game was altered by the send-off.

"We were quite happy.  The game was altered by the send-off.  We wanted to attack, and that was the message, so it was a difficult second half for us mentally given the scoreline.

 However, I believe that on the pitch, things seemed different, and Chelsea made tactical adjustments that made it challenging for us.  So, congrats to them.  However, we persevered and performed incredibly well psychologically over that second half.

 "I was happy with our defence.  For us, Nick (Pope) made two outstanding stops.  That and the role he played in today's victory are irreplaceable.  However, we crossed the line, and in a game like tonight, that's what matters most.

On the red card given to Jackson: "I'm sure he hasn't meant to elbow in the way that he has, but ultimately it doesn't look right."