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.
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