Eddie Howe, Newcastle United’s manager, attempted to identify the positives in the defeat to Chelsea.
However, it did not appear that there were many as the Magpies lost 3-2 at Stamford Bridge. It was a truly poor performance from Howe’s players, who made a mediocre Chelsea team appear like title contenders.
Players in black and white made blunders all over the pitch. Sven Botman did not bask in triumph for Chelsea’s opening goal, which was shockingly easy to surrender.
Meanwhile, Sean Longstaff appeared to be a shell of the guy who was so essential last season. His intensity has faded, and his passing was slow at best.
Even Newcastle’s talisman, Bruno Guimaraes, performed below expectations.
However, Eddie Howe was not as disappointed with the performance as the Toon Army. After the game, he noted that his team was competitive and demonstrated control at moments over the 90 minutes.
Ian Wright disagrees with Eddie Howe’s comments after Chelsea loss
Those remarks perplexed Ian Wright, who was a pundit on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football.
“I cannot understand why they didn’t play a deep block and frustrate Chelsea more,” he was quoted as saying.
“I was very confused by some of the things Eddie was saying, because I didn’t see where they had any control.”
Wright is correct about Newcastle
Not to contradict the boss, but I have to side with Ian Wright on this occasion.
While Howe may believe Newcastle had control at points against Chelsea, it did not produce a consistent performance. There were brief periods of decent possession, but they proved ineffective.
Overall, we were careless. We were the masters of our own demise at Stamford Bridge, rather than Mauricio Pochettino’s team being outstanding.
As Wright points out, it’s odd that Newcastle didn’t defend deeper. It worked against Wolves last weekend, and other clubs have undone Chelsea this season by playing in that manner.
It was a tactical misstep that led to a very dismal defeat in the capital.
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