Newcastle 3-0 Ipswich: 3 talking points as match officials take centre stage | OneFootball

Ipswich were officially relegated from the Premier League at St James' Park on Saturday afternoon as they were beaten 3-0 by Newcastle United.

The Tractor Boys needed to secure all three points on Tyneside and rely on Brighton beating West Ham United to delay their inevitable return to the Championship, but defeat confirmed their demotion with four games to spare.

Ben Johnson's first-half red card proved costly for the visitors, who fell behind shortly afterwards courtesy of Alexander Isak's controversial penalty. The second half proved a cakewalk for the Magpies, with Dan Burn and William Osula adding to the scoreline as Newcastle moved up to third in the table.

How the game unfolded

Eddie Howe made his return to the Newcastle dugout after battling pneumonia but the 47-year-old witnessed a tame opening from his side at St James' Park. Early pressure wasn't capitalised upon and Ipswich were the side that manufactured the better chances without testing Nick Pope.

Despite their territorial dominance, Newcastle failed to conjure a single shot in the opening 25 minutes, but they did manage to bundle the ball into the Ipswich net. Alex Palmer's unconvincing attempt to claim a high deflection saw the ball ricochet off Bruno Guimaraes and beyond the goal line, but the effort was ruled out for a questionable foul on the visiting goalkeeper.

Ipswich's luck ran out eight minutes from half-time, however, as Johnson was harshly dismissed. There could be no doubts about his second booking as he dragged Alexander Isak to the turf, but an earlier yellow card for a dive in which Burn made contact with the right-back was unfortunate.

The Tractor Boys were desperate to reach half-time level and looked set to achieve that after they cleared off the line moments before Sandro Tonali rattled the woodwork, but a soft penalty - given by referee Michael Salisbury after being sent to the monitor by VAR - was converted by Isak in the fourth minute of stoppage-time as Newcastle deservedly edged in front.

The outcome was never in doubt after the restart but Burn put distance between the sides ten minutes into the second period. Kieran Trippier floated a teasing cross to the far post and the colossal frame of the Newcastle centre-back proved too imposing for the Ipswich backline as he headed home from three yards out.

Newcastle waltzed to the finish line and there was even time for substitute Osula to score his first Premier League goal. Another delightful Trippier delivery was redirected by the 21-year-old up and over the outstretched palm of Palmer as the hosts rubbed further salt in Ipswich wounds.

Check out the player ratings for Newcastle 3-0 Ipswich here.

Ipswich relegation confirmed

Kieran McKenna witnessed another limp performance from his team on Saturday / Alex Livesey/GettyImages

Ipswich's return to the Championship has appeared inevitable for much of the season and Saturday's confirmation was nothing more than a formality. The start of the campaign brought hopes of surprise survival but the Tractor Boys have been extremely disappointing since the turn of the year. Diminishing energy levels and a general lack of quality have been the key factors in demotion.

Kieran McKenna's side have not been quite as abject as Leicester City and Southampton below them but their return to Championship marks the second successive season in which all three newly-promoted teams have been relegated. The gulf between the second tier and Premier League has never been wider.

On reflection, Ipswich's transfer model of recruiting almost exclusively from the Championship last summer was a misstep, with few arrivals having shown the ability to make the jump to the top-flight. But Ipswich were fighting a losing battle from the off and lacked the infrastructure to maintain their Premier League status.

A miserable season for Ipswich and their fellow promoted sides fires another warning to those who bridge the gap. The grass is seldom greener in the Premier League.

Newcastle jump into third

Newcastle are closing in on a Champions League return / Stu Forster/GettyImages

After suffering a bruising defeat at the hands of Aston Villa last weekend, Newcastle needed to produce an almighty response against their hopeless visitors on Saturday. With difficult fixtures still to come as they hunt down Champions League qualification - Brighton, Chelsea, Arsenal and Everton are their four remaining opponents - triumphing over Ipswich was non-negotiable, especially with Chelsea winning earlier in the day.

They took their time to discover their mojo in front of a raucous home crowd but eventually hit their stride towards the end of the first half - with more than a little help from the officials. Johnson's red card proved the turning point as Newcastle laid siege to the Ipswich goal, pummelling their visitors until an opening finally appeared via the penalty spot.

As expected up against the wilting and beleaguered ten men of Ipswich, the second half proved remarkably straightforward for the Magpies as they sauntered to victory. The result lifts them back into third - only Nottingham Forest have a game in hand over them - and puts them in an extremely strong position to earn a return to Europe's top table next season.

Referee Salisbury was at the heart of the drama / Alex Livesey/GettyImages

To go unnoticed is the dream of the Premier League referee, but Salisbury was not so fortunate on Tyneside. The man with the whistle was the central figure throughout a dramatic first half in which he ruled out a Newcastle opener, dismissed an Ipswich player and overturned a penalty call with the help of VAR.

All of the decisions will come under scrutiny and justifiably so. Guimaraes' disallowed goal was arguably just a case of weak goalkeeping from Palmer. Johnson's first booking for a dive was the wrong call. Newcastle's penalty for a pull on Jacob Murphy was fairly soft and hardly the kind of decision that VAR was introduced to oversee.

It was not an easy day for Salisbury and his team.