'We are the Champions' played over the public address system as Newcastle United players and staff glanced at the medals around their necks on the podium before captain Jamaal Lascelles lifted the trophy aloft. Cue the fireworks and ticker tape.
It may have only been the Diriyah Season Cup, but Newcastle supporters and the club's watching owners will hope the scenes at the Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium on Thursday night are a glimpse of the future as Eddie Howe bids to one day end the Magpies' silverware drought. While Howe will be targeting bigger prizes in the years to come, this 5-0 win against Al Hilal still proved a worthwhile exercise as Newcastle stepped up their preparations for the restart.
A double from Joelinton put the visitors in command at the break and Miguel Almiron (two) and Dylan Stephenson added the gloss in the second half. It was another important step in Newcastle's mini pre-season and, by full-time, even Howe was smiling on the touchline after his side ran riot.
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This latest voyage to Saudi Arabia comes less than a year after a similar trip to Jeddah brought an already tight-knit group grew even closer together. The Magpies duly went on to win five of their next six Premier League games after landing back home.
There are no guarantees, of course, but players and staff will be desperate for a similar return when the campaign restarts as the black-and-whites look to recapture the superb form they were in before the World Cup break. Rediscovering that momentum is the big challenge Newcastle face so these friendlies will be crucial as Howe bids to come back a 'better team' later this month.
Having already played one training game, against Middlesbrough last week, Thursday's friendly against Saudi Pro League champions Al Hilal was the penultimate public exhibition fixture before the campaign gets back under way against Bournemouth in the Carabao Cup in 12 days' time. Yet this was going to be a friendly in name only. Howe after all, once said there was no such thing as a 'dead game' for Newcastle and that was certainly true on Thursday night with the Newcastle boss and assistant Jason Tindall staying on their feet and barking orders from the touchline throughout the game.
Newcastle may have been unable to call upon the club's World Cup contingent - Nick Pope, Kieran Trippier, Fabian Schar, Bruno Guimaraes and Callum Wilson - but Howe was determined to build on a productive few days of training with a strong performance. The players had clearly been told as much. Sven Botman rightly predicted it would be a 'good test for us to be ready for what's coming' while Joelinton said 'to play well, to win the game, gives you confidence' so Newcastle had to take it 'seriously'.
With those standards in mind, Howe, unsurprisingly, named a strong side with Botman, Jonjo Shelvey, Joe Willock, Joelinton, Allan Saint-Maximin, Jacob Murphy and Chris Wood all included in the starting line-up and the visitors quickly took the lead in the eighth minute. Following a short corner routine, Jacob Murphy darted to the byline and the winger had so much time to stand up his cross and pick out Joelinton at the far post, who headed his side in front.
Glancing at the scoreline, you might think that the floodgates opened thereafter, but Newcastle took time to find their rhythm and there were a couple of hairy moments in the early stages. Both captain Jamaal Lascelles and debutant Loris Karius made their feelings clear as they clapped their hands and urged their team-mates to up their game. It may have only been a friendly, but that is how high standards are now.
Karius, who impressed in his first outing since February, 2021, went on to make a smart stop to deny Odion Ighalo from close range midway through the first half and also made a superb save to keep out Andre Carrillo's curling effort with his finger tips.
Newcastle then lost Chris Wood later in the half with what looked like a back injury, but the visitors still managed to score what proved to be a killer second goal without a recognised striker in the 43rd minute after Joe Willock slipped Joelinton in. The Brazilian's shot squeezed past Abdullah Al-Mayouf before he later hobbled off, himself, with a hamstring issue.
Far from being content with the two-goal advantage, though, Howe threw on Miguel Almiron at the break and the in-form forward struck the crossbar from distance just minutes after coming on. Fellow substitute Elliot Anderson hit the post a little later, but the woodwork could only keep Newcastle out for so long.
Almiron duly made it 3-0 after winning the ball back high up the field, dancing past a number of Al Hilal players and firing the ball in off the upright in the 77th minute. If that was a well-taken goal, well, Almiron followed it up just a few minutes later when he expertly volleyed home at the back post from Sean Longstaff's lofted pass to make it 4-0.
There was still time for youngster Dylan Stephenson to get in on the act and the Geordie added a fifth in the 86th minute with a smart finish to cap off a comfortable night for Newcastle. No wonder Howe was smiling in the end.
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