AND so, the most remarkable season in Newcastle United’s recent history has reached its end. The Magpies were unable to sign off with a victory at Stamford Bridge, and even if they had, Manchester United’s win over Fulham meant they were destined to finish fourth no matter what happened in their final outing. None of which matters a jot.

This has been a truly incredible nine months, with a place in the Champions League a fitting reward for a campaign that has seen Newcastle scale previously unthinkable heights. The highlights are almost too many to mention – thrilling wins, sensational goals, spine-tingling nights at St James’ Park – and while Eddie Howe’s first six months as head coach might have laid the foundations for a remarkable rebuild, it is his first full season on Tyneside that has seen the club transformed.

Having joined the European elite in terms of off-field financial clout thanks to Amanda Staveley’s Saudi Arabia-backed takeover, Newcastle will spend next season rubbing shoulders with the very best teams in the continent on the pitch. So much for the days when Steve Bruce was happy to be ‘keeping things ticking over’.

It is hugely exciting to think what else might be to come, with Newcastle seemingly well ahead of Chelsea when it comes to building a squad capable of competing for major honours. Could the Magpies realistically challenge for the Premier League title next season? It seems a fanciful notion, but then the thought of Howe’s side finishing in the top four would have been laughed out of town at the start of the current campaign. the most exciting thing about Newcastle at the moment is that it is impossible to know where the ceiling of their potential lies.

In so many previous seasons, the roles in yesterday’s sun-kissed contest would have been reversed. Chelsea would have been the side revelling in their recently-secured Champions League place while Newcastle would have been the team languishing in mid-table under an interim boss, mindful of the need for a major summer rebuild. For once, the roles have been well and truly reversed.

While Chelsea’s supporters serenaded Mauricio Pochettino, who will arrive at Stamford Bridge this summer with a huge task on his hands as he attempts to overhaul a squad that currently looks unfit for purpose, Newcastle’s sold-out away contingent sang of autumn trips to Italy and sought to extract every last ounce of enjoyment from a season that has surpassed all expectations.

How will the Magpies cope now that ambitions have been raised? Will Howe be able to construct a squad that is strong enough to cope with the twin challenges of Europe and the Premier League? Will a strengthened Chelsea be top-four challengers to Newcastle next season? All pertinent questions; but for now, all issues that can wait for another day. Yesterday, it was about celebrating what has already been achieved rather than worrying about what will happen next.

On the pitch, Howe made four changes as he sought to avoid any unnecessary risks with players who have had a tough campaign. Nick Pope’s absence following hand surgery meant skipper Kieran Trippier was the only player to start all 38 of Newcastle’s Premier League matches – the right-back was quite rightly selected as the club’s Player of the Season last week – with yesterday’s game seeing Martin Dubravka and Matt Targett handed rare starts as Anthony Gordon and Allan Saint-Maximin also returned to the starting line-up.

Dan Burn and Callum Wilson dropped to the bench, with the latter’s absence meaning Alexander Isak found himself back in a central-attacking position rather than playing on the left. The Swede’s preferred role is through the middle, and he almost opened the scoring in the opening two minutes after Saint-Maximin’s run opened up Chelsea’s remarkably unorganised defence. Isak got his shot away, but Kepa Arrizabalaga got his body in the right position to save.

Seven minutes later, however, and Chelsea’s goalkeeper was left helpless as the deadlock was broken. Again, the move originated down Newcastle’s left, with Saint-Maximin releasing Elliot Anderson on the overlap. Anderson slid a low ball across the face of the area, and Gordon was completely unmarked as he turned home his first goal since his January move from Everton. The 22-year-old has had to bide his time in his first half-season as a Newcastle player, he will be hoping the increased number of matches in the autumn will lead to more opportunities in the starting side.

Gordon’s opener was followed by a first-time effort from Isak that flew just wide from the edge of the box, and while Chelsea slowly began to get a grip on things in terms of possession, the Magpies looked a real threat every time they were able to break on the counter-attack.

Gradually, however, Chelsea’s territorial dominance began to tell, with the visitors increasingly finding themselves pinned back in their own half as the game entered its second quarter.

Dubravka was called into action for the first time as he clawed away Thiago Silva’s deflected header from a corner, and Anderson did well to block Chukwunonso Madueke’s volley after the Chelsea midfielder swivelled in the 18-yard box.

The flow of the game had changed, and Chelsea levelled shortly before the half-hour mark. There was a large slice of luck to the home side’s equaliser, although Newcastle’s defence was initially undone by Enzo Fernandez’s quick free-kick, which released Raheem Sterling into the area.

The England international somewhat scuffed his shot, but the ball hit Trippier on the leg before deflecting onto the full-back’s arm and rebounding into the net. It was a definite own goal, although the unfortunate Trippier did not know too much about it.

Chelsea’s spell off pressure just about merited them being level, although Newcastle wasted a glorious opportunity to reclaim the lead eight minutes before the break. Miguel Almiron had an eternity to pick his spot after Anderson’s cross reached him at the back post, but he curled a wasteful effort well wide of the far upright.

The Paraguayan was teed up again on the stroke of half-time after Saint-Maximin sparked another break, but while he at least found the target with his second effort, it was too close to Arrizabalaga, who was able to save. While Almiron undoubtedly had a purple patch in front of goal in the autumn, his finishing can still be erratic.

The action was fast and frenetic at both ends, with Chelsea twice going close to claiming the lead in first-half stoppage time. Dubravka, who was making his first league start of the season, made a great save to keep out Sterling’s initial effort from Lewis Hall’s cross, and when the Chelsea forward fired a follow-up strike at goal, Targett was able to hook the ball clear from the line.

The second half was played out a much more sedate pace than the first, with the pace of play dropping markedly and a series of substitutions disrupting the game’s rhythm.

Sterling failed to find the target when Hall teed him up in the area, and Thiago hammered a long-range strike over the bar as Chelsea tried to stage a grandstand finish.

From a Newcastle perspective, the closing stages were notable for the appearance of Lewis Miley, with the Stanley-born 17-year-old making his debut from the bench.

The midfielder became the latest academy product to make it to the first team, and almost made an instant impact as he struck the woodwork within five minutes of making it onto the field. His fellow substitute, Wilson, laid the ball off to him, and from 20 yards, Miley drove in a strike that flicked the top of the crossbar before flying over.