Report and highlights as Newcastle thrash Chelsea 4-1 at St James' Park; Alexander Isak opened scoring before Raheem Sterling scored excellent free-kick; Jamaal Lascelles and Joelinton scored quick double before Reece James saw red; Anthony Gordon added late fourth
Sunday 26 November 2023 07:05, UK
Newcastle overcame their injury crisis to deservedly claim a 4-1 win against an ill-disciplined Chelsea side, who had Reece James sent off during a second-half collapse.
After taking four points from games against Tottenham and Manchester City before the international break, Chelsea should have been relishing the opportunity to take on a Newcastle side that was forced to name three goalkeepers and a host of U21s on the bench.
But, as they have so often done this season, the Blues followed up their positive results with a shocking performance at St James' Park, going behind early thanks to Alexander Isak's clinical finish.
Raheem Sterling levelled with a stunning free-kick but that was as good as it got for Chelsea, who produced a shambolic second-half display.
Jamaal Lascelles put Newcastle back in front after an hour before Joelinton added a third just a minute later thanks to Thiago Silva's uncharacteristic error.
And things went from bad to worse for the visitors, with James dismissed after collecting two entirely avoidable bookings, before Anthony Gordon drilled in a fourth to move Newcastle to within three points of the top four.
Newcastle were boosted ahead of kick-off by the return of Isak and Bruno Guimaraes, but the threadbare substitutes’ bench named by Eddie Howe revealed the extent of their injury crisis.
That was quickly forgotten when Isak finished emphatically from Lewis Miley’s cleverly disguised pass, but Sterling scored for Chelsea with a dipping free-kick minutes later.
Both sides then missed huge chances, with Joelinton powering a close-range header wide despite being left unmarked from a corner, and Conor Gallagher scuffed a finish after Nick Pope shanked a pass straight to the Chelsea midfielder.
Kieran Trippier then came close to emulating Sterling’s strike but saw his free-kick clip the bar, meaning the sides entered half-time all square.
But the second half was barely a contest, with Chelsea - who were correctly denied a penalty when Sterling went down under minimal contact from Fabian Schar - capitulating in embarrassing fashion.
James summed up their lack of discipline, earning a yellow card for kicking the ball away and then picking up a second when dragging down Gordon after gifting possession to the Newcastle forward.
The Magpies were already two goals ahead at that point, quickly taking the game away from Chelsea as Lascelles powered in Gordon’s cross, before Joelinton smashed in a finish when Silva underhit a pass to Robert Sanchez.
The Chelsea ‘keeper managed to deny Schar from range but he was unable to keep out the irrepressible Gordon, who ensured Newcastle bounced back from successive defeats in emphatic fashion.
As well as reigniting their top-four hopes, the Magpies also moved seven points clear of Chelsea, who remain a distant 10th and have now conceded eight goals in their last two games.
Howe was delighted with the performance of his depleted side, saying: "I think it was a real statement of the character in the squad, the ability to be resilient and respond in difficult moments.
"We really asked the players to step up today, the ones who were available, and they did. We deserved to win and it was a top-class performance.
"There were some really big positives for us to take today. We don't surrender.
"It's a difficult moment for us and that won't change in the short term, but we've shown we've still got very good players."
Pochettino was furious with what he saw from Chelsea and suggested his players took their eye off the ball after impressive results in the build-up to the game.
"Even if we are a young team and need to learn, these types of games make me very angry," said Pochettino. "It's about showing more personality and character. We are young but cannot miss this type of opportunity.
"After Tottenham and Manchester City, people praise Chelsea, but then, 'OK, I stop one step before. I didn't do the effort in the right moment - it's OK, my team-mate is going to fix it'. That is the problem.
"We need to show more strength in our mental game."
Pochettino also acknowledged the errors from James and Silva, but was more critical of the team as a whole, adding: "I am talking more about energy. We did not prepare ourselves to compete in the best way. This is my concern.
"Even if Newcastle weren’t great, it was an easy win. It was so easy with the way we conceded, and we were so soft in every challenge.
"We didn’t show that we were playing for something important. That’s what makes me angry and disappointed."
Sky Sports' Joe Shread:
Mauricio Pochettino must be becoming increasingly frustrated at the fragility of his Chelsea side. After going toe to toe with champions City in their last outing, the Blues were a mess at Newcastle.
Surrendering their hard-earned momentum is becoming a worrying theme for this youthful Chelsea team. After successive Premier League wins at the start of October, they threw away a two-goal lead at home to Arsenal, before following that up with defeat at home to Brentford.
And back in September, Pochettino's team backed up his first win as Blues boss with a three-game run that featured one point and zero goals.
Inconsistency is to be expected after Chelsea's dramatic pivot towards youth, but that decision only highlights the need for their more experienced players to lead by example.
That did not happen at St James' Park. James was the main offender thanks to his dismissal, while Silva's mistake killed the game.
Even Sterling must take some responsibility, with the winger giving away a needless free-kick and then compounding his error by collecting a booking for dissent in the build-up to Lascelles' winning goal.
Conceding three goals and a red card in 23 second-half minutes, Chelsea’s leaders abandoned their post at St James' Park. Once again, it's back to the drawing board for Pochettino and his side.
Chelsea finished the game with an expected goals total of just 0.58 - which was dwarfed by Newcastle's 2.28 - and Nicolas Jackson failed to register a shot.
Paul Merson was left unimpressed with the No 9's impact, telling Soccer Saturday: "I'm not blaming Jackson but Chelsea need a striker.
"If they don't get a striker, they are going to struggle. So many times they broke today and the threat wasn't there.
"He's a young kid but if they had another centre-forward there, he would have been brought out of the team for a little rest and to learn the game.
"If they don't get a centre-forward, they are going to be nowhere near getting into the top four. And I'm not talking about this season - I'm talking about next season as well.
"I said before the game that if Chelsea could stay in the game for 30 minutes, they had every chance of winning the game, but second half Newcastle worked their socks off.
"They've got good players but they work their socks off. That is what they do. They overpowered Chelsea and ran them ragged at the end.
"They've got to work hard. They've got to get back to the drawing board. It's two steps forward three steps back.
"I don't think it's that they're not fit. I think their confidence is low and they got overwhelmed today and overpowered.
"They saw that a lot of Newcastle's stars weren't playing and they didn't match their work rate."
Newcastle are back in Champions League action on Tuesday when they travel to Paris Saint-Germain; kick-off 8pm.
They then host Manchester United in the Premier League on Saturday December 2; kick-off 8pm.
Meanwhile, Chelsea are back in Premier League action on Sunday December 3 when they host Brighton; kick-off 2pm.
