Newcastle’s biggest win in two decades was a draw. After a 20-year absence from the Champions League, they are back, perhaps headed to Madrid or Munich or Milan next season. A point was all they needed against Leicester and a point was what they got. It was a stalemate to savour for Eddie Howe, a largely uneventful game to demonstrate stunning progress in 18 months. Bottom after his first game in charge, Newcastle will now rub shoulders with the European elite. Perhaps a draw means they may face Leicester again next season, though their fate remains more uncertain. They finished three places above Newcastle last year and are 15 below them now. The turnaround has been a triumph of smart recruitment, excellent coaching and, less palatably for many outside Tyneside, Newcastle’s Saudi owners. United have had an injection of funds but some £250 million has largely been spent remarkably well. But around half the starting line-up tends to consist of players Howe inherited and who were winless three months into last season. Some have developed beyond recognition. So has a team: Newcastle’s aim for the season was to qualify for continental competition. Even a Conference League spot would have been considered a success, but instead they have vaulted back into the Champions League. It is a terrific feat by Howe, whose last full season of management culminated in Bournemouth’s relegation to the Championship. It may also be welcomed by one of the world’s more oppressive regimes, with Newcastle 80 percent owned by the Saudi Public Investment Fund. Two of their powerbrokers, Jamie Reuben and Mehrdad Ghodoussi, were applauded as they found the net in a half-time shootout. The players found it altogether harder to apply the finishing touch as they struck the woodwork three times. Which, ultimately, made more of a difference to Leicester, whose fate is out of their hands but who still have some hope; beat West Ham and, if Everton do not win, they will survive. Their plight concentrated their minds but Newcastle succeeded where they twice narrowly failed under Brendan Rodgers. He had twin fifth-place finishes from seasons when Leicester occupied top-four spots for the majority of the time. Newcastle have seen the job through. Perhaps both the scoreline and the venue were fitting. Only Liverpool and Arsenal have won at St James’ Park this season and only four clubs have triumphed there in Howe’s reign. They owe their top-four finish to consistency, particularly for a spell either side of the World Cup. A 17-game unbeaten run was, at one stage, the longest undefeated spell in any of Europe’s top five leagues. Only Manchester City have lost fewer Premier League matches this season and Newcastle, who have won as many games as Liverpool, can see the merit of the draw in the table. They have shown a toughness others lacked, a reliability and a resolve that meant they could grind their way to a point. They had a host of clean sheets in the first half of the season; they have been rarer of late but Nick Pope’s fine injury-time save from Timothy Castagne prevented defeat and spared them an anxious final day at Chelsea. They have benefited from two inspired scoring bursts, from Miguel Almiron in autumn and Callum Wilson in recent weeks. Perhaps it rendered it more of a surprise that Wilson endured an off night. Leicester kept a first clean sheet in six months, but they required assistance from the upright and relied on Newcastle’s radars malfunctioning. They had two double reprieves just before half-time. Wilson almost scored his eighth goal in six games, hooking a shot against the post and heading an effort Wilfred Ndidi cleared off the line. Then Almiron struck the post with a half-volley before Alexander Isak blazed over. Most glaringly. Bruno Guimaraes headed against the post from a yard out after Wout Faes had inadvertently flicked on Kieran Trippier’s corner. Leicester were entitled to argue – as John Terry seemed to – that the Brazilian should have been dispatched to the dressing room long before then but he escaped with a yellow card for planting his studs into Boubakary Soumare’s knee; had VAR intervened the punishment may have been greater. But Leicester got what they came for. Dean Smith adopted a policy of safety in numbers to bolster his porous rearguard, bringing in Harry Souttar as an extra centre-back and playing 5-3-2. Most contentiously – and arguably unsuccessfully given the lack of the threat the impotent strike duo of Jamie Vardy and Kelechi Iheanacho possessed – he benched his two top scorers. James Maddison came on at half-time, Harvey Barnes for the final half-hour. Neither altered proceedings even if, after his side camped behind the ball for much of the match, Smith urged them on at the end. So Leicester need favours from elsewhere on the last day of the season. Newcastle need none. Champions League, here they come. Read More Newcastle vs Leicester player ratings Callum Wilson and Miguel Almiron miss the mark Eddie Howe won’t ‘relax on a beach’ if Newcastle qualify for Champions League Newcastle may have Saudi riches, but Eddie Howe’s team is built on bargains

Of course, anyone can build their own PC. But did you know you can build

The euro-area private-sector economy contracted more than anticipated in July, with order inflows and output expectations pointing to

Singer-songwriter Niall Horan is to take his upcoming new album 'The Show' on the road next year after announcing a world tour.

By Liz Hampton ARTESIA, New Mexico Charlie Barrett walks through an oilfield in New Mexico's southeastern desert, where

The prize money and TOUR Championship payout distribution for the 30 players in the field at East Lake for the PGA Tour finale.

George Russell finished fastest in opening practice for the concluding round of the Formula One season in Abu Dhabi. Triple world champion Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton sat out the first running with 10 rookie drivers blooded at the Yas Marina Circuit. Three Britons were among them with Zak O’Sullivan, 18, and Jake Dennis, 28, making their Formula One weekend debuts for Williams and Red Bull respectively. Ollie Bearman, 18, who in Mexico made history by becoming the youngest British debutant at a Grand Prix, was handed his second practice appearance by Haas. Dennis, in a Red Bull machine which Hamilton has described as the fastest ever seen in Formula One, finished 16th of the 20 runners, 1.1 seconds off the pace. O’Sullivan was 18th – seven tenths behind Williams’ Logan Sargeant – with Bearman 20th and last, albeit only a tenth slower than Kevin Magnussen in the other Haas. Mercedes are facing up to ending the season without a single victory – the first time that has happened in 12 years. But the troubled Silver Arrows will take some confidence from ending the opening running at the top of the order. Russell finished 0.288 sec clear of Aston Martin stand-in Felipe Drugovich – who finished highest of the substitute drivers – with Daniel Ricciardo third for AlphaTauri. Valtteri Bottas was fourth in his Alfa Romeo, ahead of Lance Stroll and Oscar Piastri. The day’s concluding session – which will see the return of Verstappen, Hamilton and McLaren’s Lando Norris – gets under way at 5pm local time (1pm GMT). Read More Class action lawsuit filed over farcical start to Las Vegas Grand Prix Toto Wolff fuelled by ‘personal anger’ to help Lewis Hamilton win eighth title On this day in 2010: Sebastian Vettel becomes youngest ever F1 world champion

Chelsea has signed Ecuador midfielder Moises Caicedo from Brighton for a reported 115 million pounds ($146 million)

Football fans have marveled at the success that Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney have had since they took over Wrexham and Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson could be following in their footsteps. The former WWE champion turned Hollywood a-lister is reportedly in contact with a group looking to take over Southend United who currently play in the National League. Integral Sports Management is made up of local businessmen who are looking to purchase the club which has been up for sale since March following years of financial struggles. ISM is said to have made contact with The Rock's production company Seven Bucks Productions who might be interested in making a Welcome to Wrexham-style documentary about the club should the takeover go through. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Another actor potentially involved in the deal is Ray Winstone. The 66-year-old is a die-hard West Ham United fan but is a co-founder of ISM and will likely be involved with The Shrimpers should the purchase progress. Southend dropped out of the football league for the first time in their history in 2021 and have remained in the National League ever since. Financial troubles have rocked the club in recent years with a transfer embargo being in place since September due to money owed to HMRC. Full-time office staff haven't been paid for their work in March and April and have until July 12 to pay off the £250,000 debt that they owe. Like many football fans, Southend supporters will be more than aware of the success that celebrity owners can bring having played against Wrexham for the past two years. The Welsh club secured promotion back to the EFL after 18 years away earlier this year, spearheaded by the investment and interest that Reynolds and McElhenney have brought to the team. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Singapore-based Maxeon Solar Technologies plans to build a major solar panel manufacturing plant in Albuquerque, pending approval of a loan application with the U.S. Department of Energy

Chiefs Rumors: Justyn Ross continues to shine in training campJustyn Ross is an early contender for the NFL's comeback player of the year. Although it's far too early to make such a declaration with any confidence, Ross continues to impress at Chiefs training camp, even forcing Patrick M...

By Friederike Heine and Jan Schwartz BERLIN Swiss-based MSC, the world's biggest container shipping company, has offered to