Anthony Gordon's goal was cancelled out by an own goal from Kieran Trippier as Newcastle United drew with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on the final day of the season.
The draw means that Newcastle finish the season in fourth place, while Chelsea finish off in a rather disastrous 12th, having lost 16 games.
As expected, it was Champions League-qualified Newcastle who'd create the first chance of the game. It was a chance that'd fall to Alexander Isak who, after tying Thiago Silva up with some tidy dribbling, forced Kepa Arrizabalaga into a save at his near post with an effort from the left of the penalty area.
A few minutes later, the visitors were ahead thanks to Gordon's first goal for the club. The Blues' defence completely fell asleep (although have they ever been awake this season?) in the eighth minute to allow Matt Targett to drill the ball into the path of a completely unmarked Gordon in the middle of the box. The former Everton man made no mistake with his subsequent first time strike on goal.
In the 12th minute, Chelsea (surprisingly) showed some signs of life, with Thiago Silva forcing Martin Dubravka into a stunning save after a headed effort deflected off of Fabian Schar, then off of Silva's shoulder, and had to be tipped round the post instinctively by the second-choice goalkeeper.
That chance seemed to give the Blues some confidence as they continued to press forward with real intent, and nabbed a deserved equaliser in the 27th minute. After some good work from Raheem Sterling on the right, the England forward's shot on goal bounced off of Trippier's leg, then his arm, and eventually into the back of the net.
Chelsea would come within a whisker of making it 2-1 on the stroke of half-time when Sterling latched onto a Lewis Hall cross to force Dubravka into a smart save, before he saw a follow up effort be clear off the line by Schar.
The home side continued to dominate proceedings at the start of the second half, controlling possession in and around Newcastle's box with relative ease. The issue, however, as it has been for most the season, was the fact that Chelsea rarely had anyone in the penalty area to get on the end of the multitude of crosses fired into the box.
Newcastle, meanwhile, seemed happy enough to keep the Blues are relative arm's length, perhaps knowing that regardless of the result, thanks to Man Utd's win over Fulham, they were set to finish fourth.
A rare break jaunt forward from Newcastle late in the game almost led to the youngest Premier League player in the club's history scoring his first senior goal. After being teed up by Callum Wilson on the edge of the box, the young Lewis Miley saw his lovely first-time side-footed effort canon agonisingly off of the crossbar.
Chelsea player ratings (4-3-3)
GK - Kepa Arrizabalaga - 5/10 - He didn't have a massive amount to do.
RB - Cesar Azpilicueta - 4/10 - Had a rather torrid time up against Allan Saint-Maximin.
CB - Thiago Silva - 5/10 - Caught out a few times in the first half with crosses into the box.
CB - Trevoh Chalobah - 4/10 - He was barely sentient in the lead up to Gordon's goal. Hooked at half-time.
LB - Lewis Hall - 7/10 - Got forward well and his delivery was generally on point; it's just a pity Chelsea literally don't have a striker.
CM - Ruben Loftus-Cheek - 5/10 - He was ok. Not a performance to write home about.
CM - Enzo Fernandez - 5/10 - Kept things ticking over unspectacularly in midfield.
CM - Conor Gallagher - 5/10 - Another lively outing for the box-to-box midfielder.
RW - Noni Madueke - 5/10 - Had his moments on the ball, but hindered by having no one to cross the ball into.
ST - Kai Havertz - 3/10 - He's not a striker, and judging by the fact that he barely got into the box all day, he's not even pretending to be one at this point either.
LW - Raheem Sterling - 7/10 - Chelsea's best player. Looked back to his best on Sunday.
Substitutes
Wesley Fofana - 6/10.
Joao Felix - 5/10.
Carney Chukwuemeka - N/A.
Mateo Kovacic - N/A.
Christian Pulisic - N/A.
Manager
Frank Lampard - 6/10 - Chelsea, for a change, weren't that bad today. The only thing missing again was a striker - something fundamentally isn't Lampard's fault.
Newcastle United player ratings (4-3-3)
GK - Martin Dubravka - 7/10 - Made a few really brilliant saves in the first half.
RB - Kieran Trippier - 3/10 - Scored a rather unfortunate/funny own goal.
CB - Fabian Schar - 6/10 - Marshalled Newcastle's defensive line well throughout.
CB - Sven Botman - 6/10 - Made a few important blocks, including one off the line late in the first half.
LB - Matt Targett - 6/10 - Set up the goal following some great running down the left flank.
CM - Elliot Anderson - 5/10 - Worked hard in the midfield battle.
CM - Bruno Guimaraes - 5/10 - Put in a shift on a day where he was surprisingly linked to Barcelona.
CM - Anthony Gordon - 7/10 - An unlikely goalscorer for Newcastle considering how off-the-pace he's been all season.
RW - Miguel Almiron - 4/10 - His shooting was very much wayward all afternoon.
ST - Alexander Isak - 5/10 - A quieter than expected outing from the talented Swede.
LW - Allan Saint-Maximin - 7/10 - Ran Azpilicueta ragged in the first half in particular.
Substitutes
Callum Wilson - 5/10.
Jacob Murphy - N/A.
Dan Burn - N/A.
Lewis Miley - N/A.
Manager
Eddie Howe - 6/10 - He shut up shop in the second half, content with Newcastle's fourth place finish. Howe's done a stunning job this season.
Man of the match: Raheem Sterling (Chelsea)
This article was originally published on 90min as Chelsea 1-1 Newcastle: Player ratings as Blues end season with Stamford Bridge draw.
