Cabaye confirms Newcastle's place in Europe

Masterclass: Yohan Cabaye celebrates his second goal 

European football is to return to St James' Park after Newcastle United romped to a comfortable 3-0 home victory over Stoke City.

The win confirmed that the Magpies will at least be competing in the Europa League next season as Everton failed to win against Manchester United at Old Trafford - though they did play out a thoroughly entertaining 4-4 draw with Sir Alex Ferguson's side - a result which leaves the Toffees unable to overtake Newcastle in the league.

That Newcastle have now qualified for European competition is no surprise, their performances throughout the season have merited a return to continental football,something that they have not experienced since 2007. What has come as a shock to many observes is that Alan Pardew's men continue to demolish teams with a style and confidence befitting that of a Champions League team.

If they are able to maintain current form then the Champions League is exactly where Newcastle will find themselves, the Geordies now occupy the fourth and final qualification place for European football's biggest club competition and sit three points ahead of nearest rivals Tottenham Hotspur - who slipped to defeat at Queens Park Rangers - and just two behind third placed Arsenal.

Saturday's triumph was masterminded by Yohan Cabaye, the French midfield general was at the forefront of Newcastle's vibrant attacking play and was rewarded with two goals.

Cabaye nodded in the game's opener from close range 14 minutes in, Hatem Ben Arfa, who was in typical swashbuckling form swung in a deep cross which was met perfectly by Papiss Cisse. The Senegal international's effort crashed against the bar but Cabaye showed the quickest reactions and judged the flight of the rebound perfectly to give Newcastle a deserved lead.

Four minutes later and the former Lille man turned provider, as he and Cisse produced a passage of play that was as close as you can get to footballing telepathy. Cabaye collected Jonas Gutierrez's pass on the left hand side and slid a expertly timed long range pass through the Stoke back line and into the path of Cisse, who - after timing his angled run perfectly - proceeded to slot the ball past Asmir Begovic and into the bottom corner.

Newcastle took their foot of the gas slightly after the break but still poured forward with enthusiasm and vigour. Pardew's charges were denied a third goal shortly into the second half when Cisse prodded home a rebound after Demba Ba's fierce drive had been spilled by Begovic. However the linesman ruled that Cisse had been offside, a decision that appeared contentious at best.

The Magpies did have their third moments later though, as Cabaye curled an exquisite shot into the bottom corner from the edge of the area to seal another fine three points and put the pressure on their rivals in what is in an increasingly intriguing battle for the final two places in the top four. 

Stoke did have their chances, most notably six minutes into the contest when Jonathan Walters fired over after latching on to a Peter Crouch knockdown, but in truth Newcastle could have won by more. A Cheick Tiote piledriver was well saved by Begovic, and Fabricio Coloccini should have scored when he headed wide from a Ben Arfa corner.  

Indeed, Newcastle may well have triumphed by a wider margin, but the manner of the win and the artistry of their performance sent a clear statement of intent to the rest of the league. The Magpies have now won six games on the bounce and if the victory over Stoke is anything to go by, they certainly aren't finished yet.