Newcastle United secured an immediate return to the Premier League with a decisive home victory against Preston North End.
Ayoze Perez camup up with an 7 minute early opener.
Jordan Hugill then responded immediately with the equalizer.
Christian Atsu then gave the hosts the lead 2-1 up at half-time.
Newcastle then found their stride and eased the tension when Paul Gallagher was sent off for handling on the line and Matt Ritchie scored the resulting penalty.
Perez got his second and closed the scoreline with a decisive win for Newcastle and a return to top-tier football.
Newcastle Manager Rafael Benitez:
“I have to congratulate the players, the staff, everyone here in the club and city.
“In the end it was a very difficult task because it’s a very difficult division and we had to keep going and pushing. There are a lot of things you cannot control but in the end we are where we wanted to be.
“This day is massive because everyone said at the beginning you have to go straight up. You know from experience it’s not easy for any team, especially when you go down and have to change half the squad.
“I think it’s a really important achievement for everyone involved because you have to keep strong mentally and keep going for so many months.”
Scoreline:
Newcastle United
Pérez (7′ minutes, 67′ minutes)
Atsu (45′ minutes)
Ritchie (65′ minutes pen)
Preston North End
Hugill (14′ minutes)
Gallagher (Dismissed at 64′ minutes)
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