Post Match Reaction: Newcastle vs Chelsea

 Newcastle United Tear Chelsea To Shreds At St.James Park! (Newcastle 4 Chelsea 1)

• Eddie Howe and Newcastle pore ice on simmering young Chelsea

• Reed James underscores an indisciplined Chelsea performance with a Red card

• Pochettino reads riot act on young blues

Chelsea's thrashing at St. James is a stark reminder of the work that still needs to be done.

By Udo Anyanwu | November 25, 2023

“We didn't show we were playing for something important...we cannot miss the opportunity to show ourselves at our best”

- Mauricio Pochettino

It was as brutal as it gets in the Premier League. Chelsea were ruthlessly taught a footballing lesson by a resurgent Newcastle. Injury-ravaged is an understatement for a team with 12-13 players sidelined. You wouldn't have believed it from the way Newcastle picked Chelsea apart. They put an emphatic 4 goals past a hapless and defenseless Robert Sanchez in goal.

The game started well enough for Chelsea. They showed some slick passing early on. Newcastle's intent was never in doubt. They came to win injuries or not. It was an excellent strategy from Eddie Howe and Newcastle. They were relentless in driving at the heart of the Chelsea defense time and again.

Newcastle struck gold in the 13th minute with Alexander Isak's quick turn to slot home from 17-year-old Jamie Miley's incisive pass. Raheem Sterling did well to strike back for Chelsea with an inch-perfect free kick that caught goalkeeper Nick Pope flatfooted. The rest of the half was riddled with errors and missed opportunities on both sides. It was 1-1 at halftime. The game was balancing on a knife edge.

Newcastle Powers Away

Newcastle came back for the second half with a determination to finish the job. Chelsea in contrast seemed error-prone and lost for ideas. Long balls played deep by Newcastle didn't help the Chelsea cause. Lascelles rose high and unmarked to head home giving Newcastle the lead. The home crowd went into a frenzy. Chelsea would have to dig deep and fashion a comeback as they had done against Spurs and Man City.

It was not to be. Chealea's defense had been vulnerable all afternoon. Thiago Silva picked the worst time to make a rare costly mistake. Fellow Brazilian Joelinton wasted no time in pouncing on a weak back pass to smash home past Robert Sanchez. Newcastle were firmly in control at 3-1. It got worse when captain Reece James was sent off for an unnecessary foul on Anthony Gordon. Gordon would put the last miserable nail in Chelsea's coffin by rounding Benoit Badiashile to score Newcastle's 4th goal.

A Long Way To Go For Chelsea

After the game, a visibly frustrated Maricio Pochettini didn't pull punches in openly criticizing the poor performance. He was quick to put responsibility on the entire team to find a way out.

"We spoke in the dressing room after the game to reflect and we need to sleep on this one and get back to work as soon as possible."

- Mauricio Pochettino

 

The intensity levels dropped noticeably in the second half. Several players were off-pace. The lack of maturity and discipline was glaring. The players committed multiple and needless fouls. The error rate was high and there was no conviction fighting for second balls. Certainly, the team has made remarkable progress in the last few games. The win at Spurs and the draw against champions City at home are evidence. The pieces of the Chelsea puzzle are there. Now it's time to put it all together.

Opposition Overview: Newcastle Plot Chelsea Defeat

Newcastle United Prepare To Tear Chelsea To Shreds At St.James Park

• Back-to-back losses put Eddie Howe under pressure to beat Chelsea

• Tactical analysis of how Newcastle will play

• How Chelsea can win by replicating recent tactics

  By Udo Anyanwu | November 24, 2023

Newcastle United Attacker Callum Wilson

"We all know that St. James Park with that crowd behind you has been a brilliant fortress..." - Eddie Howe

Newcastle United prepares for Saturday's Premier League showdown with Chelsea on the back of two miserable defeats. The most recent was an away loss to Bournemouth in the premier league while a defeat against Dortmund puts their Champions League group qualification hopes in the balance.

Newcastle have been plagued by injuries this season. If you think Chelsea has injury problems then you've not been following Newcastle. Chelsea has had 8 players ruled out but Newcastle has a whopping 13 players out (yes, you heard that right).

Newcastle's Tactical Approach

Eddie Howe is under serious pressure. The honeymoon phase after last year's outrageous success in qualifying for the Champions League. is over. With two back-to-back defeats, Eddie Howe cannot afford any more slips. He will look to beat Chelsea tomorrow (and PSG next week) to restore confidence in his leadership.

Tactics for playing against Chelsea are clear. Big teams will ignore it because they want to attack and win games. Take Man City for instance. Pep Guardiola must have known that Chelsea struggled against low-block teams. He opted instead to follow his script, trusting in his team's ability to win. Eddie Howe could make the same mistake.

The Danger For Chelsea

Newcastle's injury-ravaged team still has one piece intact: Kieran Trippier. Most of the team's attacks will be initiated from his full-back position as he looks to push the team forward from the right. The attacking players in front of him will look to do the damage. It could be Anthony Gordon, Alexander Isak, or Miguel Almiron.

Newcastle has been among the Premier League's best-attacking sides in almost all metrics from chances created to shots-on-target. This is a team capable of hurti9ng anybody. Defensively they've shown vulnerability. We saw this against Bournemouth. Dan Burn remains out but Tino Livramento is likely to replace Lewis Hall who is ineligible to play.

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The Chelsea Master Plan

There are two things you never change. You don't change a winning formula and you never change a winning team. Chelsea's path to an unlikely success at St James Park lies in replicating its performance against Man City. In that game, Chelsea were brilliant in the transition, tearing through Man City's defense with surprising ease.

Kieran Trippier will leave a lot of spaces behind as he progresses forward. This creates excellent opportunities for Raheem Sterling on the counter. Cole Palmer and Nicholas Jackson must be clinical in front of goal. Conor Gallagher's ability to create turnovers and disrupt play will be vital. St. James Park has been a fortress but even the most fortified fortresses can be breached. Chelsea looks in prime shape to do that on Saturday.

Premier League: Newcastle United vs Chelsea FC Preview

Rejuvenated Chelsea Face Injury Ravaged Newcastle At St.James Park

• Chelsea Players return from the International break

• Nkunku and Lavia Back In Training

• Reece James is fit and ready to play

• Pochettino gets Collwill and Ghusto boost

By Udo Anyanwu | Nov 23, 2023

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Chelsea return to League action this Saturday with a potential banana peel game away to injury-hit Newcastle United at St James Park

Chelsea are back! The excitement is buzzing again after the dramatic game against Manchester City. This weekend they play another potential blockbuster away at Newcastle, a team in the throes of a major injury crisis. Coach Eddie Howe has had a disastrous few weeks in terms of injuries. Now he must somehow stitch together a team to face Chelsea.

Before the break, Chelsea played a breathtaking 4-4 classic at Stamford Bridge against treble-winning defending champions Manchester City. Many of the pieces in Pochettino's puzzle are finally falling into place. Forward Raheem Sterling played like a man on fire for the full 90. But he wasn't allowed to steal the show as Cole Palmer, Conor Gallagher, and Reece James all put in 5-star performances.

Pochettino will have every cause to arrive at Newcastle with confidence. His player returned from International practically unscathed. Enzo Fernandez was world-class in Argentina's win away against Brazil. Malo Ghusto and Levi Colwill survive injury scares and are in training. Reece James was passed over by England and so is fully rested. It's unclear if Nicholas Jackson can return in time from duty with Senegal. Chris Nkunku and Romeo Lavia are yet to feature this season but are back in training.

Newcastle under coach Eddie Howe come off the back of 2 devastating losses to Borrusia Dortmund and Bournemouth. This is a team with an injury list that looks more like a shopping list. Raul Almiron, Isak, Target, Barnes, Burn, and Callum Wilson are all out with injuries. In their last outing against Bournemouth Newcastle was outplayed and overwhelmed in a 2-0 defeat. Goalkeeper Nick Pope kept the scorelines respectable with an excellent display.

https://x.com/UberChelseaFC

In these circumstances, Chelsea would be expected to put Newcastle to the sword. However, they have had a woeful record this season against teams that park the bus. It's hard to see Newcastle coming out with all guns blazing like City or Spurs. Coach Eddie Howe could be tempted to be more pragmatic especially as Newcastle host PSG in a must-win Champions League game on Tuesday. If that's the case this game could be another banana peel to trip up Pochettino's roaring young lions.

Chelsea is likely to line in Pochettino's favoured 4-3-3 formation. In defense, Axel Disasi should partner Thiago Silva unless Pochettino's decides to give Benoit Badiashile a run. Reece James and Cucurella are expected in full-back positions. The midfield picks itself with Caicedo, Enzo, and Conor Gallagher. Nicholas Jackson may be rested with Sterling, Mudryk, and Cole Palmer playing as false 9. It's a formula that worked to perfection in the past and hopeful it can do the magic against Newcastle on Saturday.