Chelsea suffer serious setback to Champions League aspirations in defeat at Newcastle United

By Kaz Mochlinski
13 minutes ago
5 min read

Newcastle United (2) 1 v Chelsea (0) 0

Tonali 2

Guimarães 90

By Kaz Mochlinski at St. James’ Park

Premier League

Matchweek 36

Chelsea potentially suffered a serious setback to their hopes of returning to the Champions League, after being beaten by one of their main rivals for the qualification places, Newcastle United, at St. James’ Park.

Two goals, one in either half, the first in the opening minutes of the match, and the second right at the very end, from Newcastle’s two central midfielders, decided the outcome of a dramatic encounter.

However, Chelsea’s task, against the team immediately above them in the Premier League table, was made much harder by going down to 10 men when Nicolas Jackson was sent off 10 minutes before half-time.

The Senegalese striker was shown a straight red card for serious foul play after deliberately directing his right forearm and elbow into Sven Botman’s head as they jumped together for a high ball.

The referee, John Brooks, initially produced a yellow card, but inevitably escalated the on-field punishment when he was advised by a VAR intervention to review the incident on the pitchside monitor.

Jackson’s very visible and crude challenge, imbecilic and undisguised, looking at his target’s face rather than following the flight of the ball, will have further ramifications as it earns him an automatic suspension for the rest of the domestic season.

Chelsea unsurprisingly struggled to re-organise themselves and will have been extremely relieved to have finished the first half only one goal behind. Yet, to their great credit, they conjured a comeback after the break to almost snatch an unlikely draw.

Newcastle had responded to the sense of occasion generated by their supporters, who decorated St. James’ Park in black and white, and provided their typical vociferous backing from the outset, despite the early kick-off on a hot and sunny Sunday.

It gave their side the impetus to make the fast start that they always desire, and the Magpies went ahead after just 112 seconds, from their first attack, when Sandro Tonali left-footed turned in Jacob Murphy’s excellent low cross.

Moisés Caicedo had superbly got back to tackle Anthony Gordon, only for Romeo Lavia to be robbed of possession by Tonali, who then slipped unmarked towards the far post to provide a target for the pass in from the right.

Although he slightly scuffed the first-time contact, Tonali managed to cut the ball back across the goal, wrong-footing Robert Sánchez. After such a breathless beginning, this was oddly the last notable goalmouth action for almost all the rest of the half.

With Chelsea desperately trying to get some sort of foothold in the game, and Newcastle very comfortable in their 3-4-3 formation with a high-energy press, the contest became tense and attritional, culminating in Jackson’s thoughtless thuggery.

Newcastle quickly responded to the red card by pushing the visitors onto the defensive once again, with Dan Burn twice up for headers which he probably should have put away, from right-sided crosses by Tonali and then Harvey Barnes.

The men in black and white could easily have been left to regret those misses, as Chelsea surged back in the second half, benefitting from the Blues’ head coach, Enzo Maresca, rectifying his misplacing of Caicedo.

Chelsea are invariably better when their player of the season award winner is in his customary midfield position, to which he was restored after the interval from the right-back role he was given in the starting set-up for the third league match in a row.

In the 49th minute, Cole Palmer with a long, low, left-footed shot produced the Blues’ first attempt on target, but his scoring touch remains absent, in spite of the penalty he put away on his previous appearance, against Liverpool.

Palmer has not registered a goal from open play for 20 games now. Nevertheless, his influence on the St. James’ Park pitch grew ever greater, with one cross from the right picking out Marc Cucurella in the penalty box for a left-foot strike brilliantly tipped away by Nick Pope.

In spite of being a player down, Maresca bravely persisted with three up front, forcing the Newcastle head coach, Eddie Howe, into switching from a back-three to a four-man defensive line, although that also freed Palmer from Burn’s man-marking up till then.

Howe to a large extent did not have any option in his changes, with Botman, on his first league start since January, not quite lasting an hour, while the Magpies were also missing long-term absentees Joelinton and Lewis Hall, plus Kieran Trippier and Joe Willock.

Chelsea so nearly took advantage, showing impressive tenacity and spirit in fighting back from adversity. At Fulham three weeks ago they were able to turned a deficit around into a victory, but being a man short this time a repeat proved just beyond them.

Enzo Fernández, from a similar position in the left penalty area to Cucurella, was, like his teammate, denied spectacularly by Pope, having sent a right-foot drive heading for the top corner. Otherwise, as so often this season, the Blues’ finishing let them down.

The Londoners could still have salvaged a point when their two right-backs, Reece James and Malo Gusto, having come on as substitutes, combined late on. But, from Gusto’s perfect delivery, James’s near-post header sailed agonisingly over the bar.

And, in the final minute of normal time, Gusto’s misery was compounded as his deflection sent Bruno Guimarães’s goalbound effort looping over Sánchez and into the net - to almost confirm Newcastle’s spot in the Champions League for next season.

The Geordies have moved past Chelsea with seven wins in their last nine Premier League matches - and only one defeat in that sequence since February. The Blues’ own little series of five victories in all competitions is over.

After losing 1-0 at Arsenal in mid-March, Chelsea had been unbeaten in their subsequent six league games, enabling them, at kick-off, to be level on points and on goal difference with Newcastle, trailing solely on goals scored.

But their away form continues to compromise their campaign. Chelsea have now been beaten in the Premier League six times in their last nine matches on their travels, winning just one and drawing two.

This time against a direct rival mattered more. Newcastle knew how much it meant, and they celebrated with a lap of honour around St. James’ Park. Meanwhile, Palmer sat on the grass, taking off his socks to reveal worrying strapping on both his knees.

Following all his attempts to elevate those around him up to his level, he will be particularly devastated if later this year there are six English clubs in the Champions League and Chelsea are not among them.

Newcastle United: (3-4-3) Pope - Schär, Botman (Miley 55), Burn - Murphy, Guimarães (Longstaff 94), Tonali, Livramento - Barnes, Isak (Wilson 94), Gordon (Krafth 64)

Chelsea: (4-2-3-1) Sánchez - Caicedo, Chalobah (Gusto 75), Colwill, Cucurella - Lavia (Sancho 75), Fernández - Neto, Palmer, Madueke (James 46) - Jackson

Attendance: 52,231