So that, my good friends, is that. Louise Taylor was on point at St James’ Park tonight. Here’s her verdict. Click and enjoy ... and thanks for reading this MBM. Nighty night!
Frank Lampard’s analysis. “That’s football. You have to get your head round it quickly. The feel of the game was domination. They had a header against the bar, three headers in the game, and one of them they score with. Other than that, I don’t remember them endangering our box. We camped around their box, creating chances. You won’t always create clear-cut against Newcastle because they have so many defenders around their box, and fair play to them. But we absolutely controlled it. At 0-0 I was going to say to the lads ‘you gave everything’. They pushed and pushed. We know we have problems at the top of the pitch, we don’t get enough goals if we want to bridge the gap. And if you don’t score, you’re always liable for a sucker punch, and we got hit. It’s something we need to address. We need to be clinical. I am pleased with the players we’ve got, but we can’t work any more in training on finishing. We finish and we finish, and sometimes you need to have that killer instinct. It’s quite clear from what I’m saying that we know where we need to strengthen ... so we’ll see.” January transfer action ahoy!
A word with Steve Bruce. “The players worked so hard. But talk about smash and grab! The one thing we did do, and you can’t fault the boys, is we defended really well. We showed great resilience. We’ve nicked it, sneaked it, whatever you want. You can’t fault them to a man, for their effort and endeavour. We’ve got to look after the ball better, but we tried to change earlier on [this season] and I didn’t think we were ready. The players are used to playing this way for a couple of years, it suits them. We will gradually get better, we’ll have to improve. That’s the next step. But we’ve got a few results against the big teams.” He also reports that Jetro Willems has “twisted his knee badly ... it looks a nasty one”.
Chelsea’s defeat has given Manchester United extra incentive - not that they need it - to beat leaders Liverpool tomorrow. If they manage a result at Anfield, they’d move to within two points of the Blues, who stay on 39 points in fourth place. Newcastle move up to 12th spot on 29 points, seven clear of the relegation places. Hayden’s late goal has proved so precious.
Chelsea had done all the attacking, Newcastle all the defending. But the hosts made one last surge, Joelinton winning a corner that would prove decisive. Saint-Maximin’s deep cross was forced home by Hayden from close range, and the Toon will be bouncing tonight. A massive three points in their bid to stay clear of trouble. I wonder whether Kepa could have done better? Hayden’s bouncing header wasn’t the most powerful, and the keeper got a hand to it. But the points are Newcastle’s. Steve Bruce smiles warmly; Frank Lampard looks sick.
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FULL TIME: Newcastle United 1-0 Chelsea
St James’s Park erupts! A huge three points, won by Isaac Hayden, with additional thanks to Joelinton and Saint-Maximin. Drama worth waiting for.
GOAL! Newcastle United 1-0 Chelsea (Hayden 90+4)
Ritchie’s corner is appalling, cleared easily by first man Willian, who heads upfield. But Saint-Maximin curls one back in from a deep position on the left. Hayden rises highest at the far post and heads down. Kepa can’t parry as the ball bounces back up, and Newcastle have snatched all three points at the death!
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90 min +3: Steve Bruce prowls the touchline. He’ll be pleased with his side’s resolve in defence. He might be even happier if Newcastle can snatch a dramatic late goal ... because Joelinton has just won a corner with a bustle down the left. They couldn’t, could they?
90 min +2: Kante tries to slip Barkley into the Newcastle box with a sliderule pass down the middle, but Lascelles is on point to clear.
90 min +1: Hudson-Odoi drops a shoulder and glides infield from his beat on the left. He tries to plant a curler into the top right, but gets far too much on it and the ball sails into the stand behind.
90 min: “This is what we are reduced to,” writes this MBM’s co-author Mary Waltz. “A RADA rejection audition of a wounded soldier.” Do you think Mary is looking forward to the four added minutes?
88 min: Some rare quality in attack from Newcastle, as Almiron puts his foot on the ball 30 yards from goal. He sizes up the options and dinks a ball left for Saint-Maximin, who cushions it down for Joelinton. Newcastle’s number nine snatches at his shot, sending it sailing wide left. Kepa should have been called into action, at the very least.
86 min: Barkley feeds Hudson-Odoi down the left. Hudson-Odoi wins a corner and takes it himself. Emerson, in the middle of the mixer, cocks his leg back to shoot ... but at the last second the ball is clattered clear by Sean Longstaff. Newcastle are hanging on a little here.
85 min: Matty Longstaff comes on for Shelvey.
84 min: From the set piece, Emerson twists and turns just inside the Newcastle box. Sean Longstaff sticks out a leg. Emerson runs into it deliberately and flops over. No penalty, though, the referee deciding it was a dive. Emerson goes in the book.
83 min: Emerson sends a rising screamer towards the top right. It’s deflected out for a corner by Fernandez. Chelsea are getting closer and closer.
82 min: Hudson-Odoi, out on the left, nearly finds Batshuayi at the far post. An inch or two too high.
80 min: That’s Abraham’s last contribution. He’s replaced by Batshuayi.
79 min: Jorginho crosses from the left. Azpilicueta rises to win a header at the far post. Abraham, in the middle, hooks past Dubravka. The ball bounces slowly towards the net. But it won’t go in, because Ritchie tracks back to hook clear. Dubravka might have got a piece of Abraham’s effort, in fact, allowing Ritchie to perform his heroics.
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77 min: James, having picked up his injury on the far side of the field, is at least able to make his own way back round the pitch to the dugouts. “At my advanced age seething isn’t an option,” replies Mary Waltz. “Sliding into a quiet depression is more accurate.”
75 min: At the next break in play, Chelsea replace James with Emerson. Then they win a corner down the left. Hudson-Odoi takes, but it’s no good.
74 min: Poor James is in the wars. Now he goes down holding his leg. Having left the pitch, he tries to roll back on for treatment, but the referee wants the game to continue and orders him back off. Chelsea aren’t happy about it, but this is how it’s going to be.
73 min: Jorginho and Barkley one-two their way down the left. Sean Longstaff tries to break up the move, only to prod the ball down the channel towards his own goal, and straight to Abraham, who rounds Dubravka on the outside ... before slicing a poor effort into the side netting.
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72 min: Good news, as James is good to continue. His first post-recovery act is an overhit cross from the right that flies out of play on the other side of the field. Chelsea are just glad to see him back.
71 min: As James receives treatment, Sean Longstaff comes on for Emil Krafth.
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70 min: James writhes in agony, having landed awkwardly on his arm after a non-event of a challenge in the middle of the park. Not sure whether he’s hurt his elbow or jarred his shoulder. He called for the physio immediately. His captain Azpilicueta stands over him with a concerned look on his face.
68 min: Chelsea make their first change of the evening, hooking a below-par Mason Mount and replacing him with Ross Barkley.
66 min: More low-quality wizardry. Nothing is coming off. Mary Waltz will be seething by now.
64 min: Hudson-Odoi takes a corner out on the right, and flies it over a crowded box. Newcastle try to spring upfield through Saint-Maximin, but the move breaks down quickly enough. These impotent attacks continue to cause Mary Waltz great discomfort. In an email with the subject heading Bad Magic, she writes: “When either side approaches the penalty box all their skills seem to be removed from their bodies.”
62 min: Hudson-Odoi dribbles in from the right in style. Just as he begins to think about pulling the trigger, Clark executes the perfect slide tackle to put a stop to his gallop. The crowd enjoyed that, and why not? A satisfying crunch wonderfully timed.
60 min: Some staunch work by Joelinton, who bustles his way up the left flank and moves infield. He eventually gives up possession to his team-mate Shelvey, who tries his luck from 30 yards. His luck’s not in. Chelsea go up the other end, Hudson-Odoi working his way down the right and pulling back for Abraham, who hooks over harmlessly.
58 min: Kante has a whack from the best part of 30 yards, sending a bobbler towards the bottom left. It’s meat and drink for Dubravka.
56 min: Mount works his way down the inside-left channel and is unceremoniously flipped into the air by Hayden. In the book you go, sir. A free kick in a very dangerous position, 25 yards out. Chelsea work a routine, and make a total hash of it, Jorginho clipping a ball down the inside-right channel to absolutely nobody. The ball trundles apologetically out for a goal kick.
55 min: Willian glides in from the left. He feeds Jorginho, who shuttles the ball further infield for Azpilicueta. Chelsea’s captain slaps a shot towards the bottom left from the edge of the box. Dubravka is behind it all the way.
53 min: Newcastle fling a few men upfield, and are nearly caught out on the counter, hoist by their own petard. Chelsea sling a long ball up the right. Abraham turns and feeds Willian, who drifts towards the left of the D before dragging a weak shot across goal and out on the right. He should have worked Dubravka at the very least.
52 min: There really isn’t much going on right now. Mary Waltz is not impressed: “Is the field icy? Does the ball have corners?”
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50 min: Space for Ritchie out on the left. But there’s nobody making a move, and he’s forced to turn tail. It’s all a bit slow from Newcastle.
48 min: The early signs suggest Willian is just fine. He skedaddles in from the left wing, slipping past two men and shooting from the edge of the box. His effort is blocked, but there didn’t appear to be any problem with his movement there.
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47 min: All very scrappy at the start of the second half. St James’ Park is a quiet place as a result.
We’re off again! Newcastle get the second half underway. Willian was holding his groin as he walked off for half-time, and he was doing the same just before kick-off now. Pedro has been out warming up, but Willian’s good to continue. For now.
Half-time entertainment.
HALF TIME: Newcastle United 0-0 Chelsea
And that’s your lot for the first 45 50 minutes. Not a classic yet, but eventful enough. Chelsea have dominated, but it’s Newcastle who have come closest to scoring, Joelinton smashing a McDonald/Shearer/Carroll-esque header off the crossbar.
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45 min +5: The home crowd accuse the referee of ineptitude via the medium of song, but that was the correct decision, and VAR would have spotted it anyway.
45 min +4: Joelinton has the ball in the net, Ritchie having taken a quick free kick from the centre circle with Chelsea light at the back. The striker raced free down the right, and slapped the ball past Kepa, but Chelsea had stopped playing because the referee had noticed the ball was rolling when Ritchie took the set piece, and whistled accordingly.
45 min +3: Some pinball in the Newcastle box, instigated by Azpilicueta’s low left-wing cross. Willian nearly gets a chance to shoot. Instead, Ritchie hooks hysterically over the bar. Hudson-Odoi’s resulting corner is no good.
45 min +2: Willian sashays in from the left, then feeds Azpilicueta on the overlap. Corner. Mount takes, and it’s easily snaffled by Dubravka.
45 min: There will be five added minutes, a result of the Willems injury.
44 min: Mount whips a low free kick towards the bottom right, but can’t get past the Newcastle wall. Not great. The resulting deflection does earn a corner, mind ... but that particular set piece is easily cleared by the home defence. Chelsea come back at Newcastle, but there’s more misery for Mount as he slips while crossing from the left. Shank! Goal kick.
42 min: Almiron clumsily runs into the back of Jorginho, 25 yards out, just to the right of centre. A free kick in a very promising position for the visitors.
40 min: Hudson-Odoi finds Mount, 12 yards out, with a cross from the right flank. Mount slaps a header harmlessly over. Both sides have had their chances.
39 min: James drops a shoulder to diddle Ritchie down the right. His cross hits the first man, but top marks for the way the young full-back earned himself the space and right to do so, even if the final product was uncharacteristically lacking this time.
38 min: A free kick for Newcastle out on the right. Shelvey swings it in from deep. Fernandez rises highest, but can’t keep his header from six yards down.
37 min: Hayden’s absolutely fine. This much we know because he’s just foolishly run the ball out of play at high speed, with Newcastle developing a rare, promising attack down the right.
35 min: Christensen climbs on the back of Joelinton, but Newcastle don’t get the free kick. On the touchline, Steve Bruce critiques the referee in the Anglo Saxon style, and earns a bollocking from the official for his trouble.
34 min: The busy James pearls a low shot-cum-cross into the Newcastle six-yard box from a tight angle on the right. Dubravka is in the right position to block and clear. Newcastle are beginning to look a little ragged.
33 min: A stunning move by Chelsea. Willian curls in from the left. Kante flicks a header on. Abraham is a little ahead of the ball, so sticks out a boot and backheels an effort onto the underside of the crossbar! That was an inch or so away from flying into the top left. Ah, he was offside, so had it gone in, it wouldn’t have counted. But what improvisation by Abraham.
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31 min: The ref blows up, pausing the play to allow Fernandez to put his boot back on. It’s slowly turning into that sort of game. Excitement, please!
29 min: Abraham tries to make up for it, taking a shot from 25 yards. It flies 25 yards over the bar. Meanwhile Oliver Lewis isn’t having it that Newcastle are currently cursed with injuries: “A few injuries are bad luck, this many is consistently throwing players back in too soon, playing players even though the medical team say they are likely to be injured and I suspect some ‘old school’ training methods. Of course some is bad luck but something has to change, this is preposterous. So many millions of pounds of investment out of action for large parts of the season.”
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28 min: James curls an Alexander-Arnoldesque low cross into the Newcastle box from deep. That’s a fine pass that nearly sticks on Abraham, six yards out. But Abraham takes his eye off the ball as he attempts to trap and turn, and the chance is gone. James is one hell of a prospect.
26 min: Chelsea pin Newcastle back. Not that Newcastle need much encouragement to sit deep. They keep their shape as Willian, Mount and Azpilicueta toil on the left, unable to open up the hosts.
24 min: That’s woken St James’ Park up a bit. The home faithful had been subdued since the early loss of Willems. Incidentally, it seems like Hayden is moving around in a much freer style now.
22 min: Joelinton crashes a header off the underside of the crossbar! He beat Kepa all ends up, having met Fernandez’s wonderful right-wing cross, but his luck still isn’t in. Chelsea hack clear. So unlucky. That was a wonderful header. Andy Carroll would have been proud of it.
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20 min: Newcastle have had just 31% possession so far, which is low even by their own standards, the aforementioned 33.6%. If they keep this up all season, they’ll easily break the lowest possession record since records began in 2003, beating Neil Warnock’s 2018-19 Cardiff team (33.9%) and four different Tony Pulis vintages (at Stoke, West Brom and Palace, between 36.6% and 38.6%).
19 min: Almiron bustles down the right and hooks a cross into the mixer. Chelsea half clear, and Saint-Maximin tries to curl a spectacular one into the top right from distance. His effort just about stays in the stadium.
18 min: Ah this is good to see. Hayden caught a sore one there, but he’s able to get up and after a quick trot around to check what’s what, continues to play. He’s not moving around totally smoothly, but here’s hoping it’s not too serious and he can run it off.
16 min: This is preposterous. Now Hayden is down, clutching his ankle while contesting a ball with Mount. Newcastle appear cursed at the minute.
14 min: Mount busies himself down the left and squirts the ball across the face of Newcastle’s goal. The ball refuses to spin into the net, and there’s nobody in blue there to force it home. A goal immediately after Willems’ departure really would have added insult to injury.
12 min: Not sure whether Willems’ injury has been caused by the impact of knee on knee, or a twist as he landed. It was completely accidental, a garden-variety 50-50 challenge with Hudson-Odoi. Poor Willems departs on a stretcher and is replaced by Matt Ritchie. On the touchline, Steve Bruce shakes his head in disbelief and despair. His pre-match quotes look particularly poignant now. Newcastle and their players can’t catch a break.
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10 min: Oh no, is this more injury woe for Newcastle? Willems clatters into Hudson-Odoi, falls to the ground, and batters the turf dramatically with his fist in a mix of frustration and pain. He immediately waves to his bench. It was a whack of knee on knee, and Willems shakes his head repeatedly as the trainer assesses the damage.
8 min: Willian threatens to break clear down the left, but changes his mind and pulls the ball back for Azpilicueta, who blooters a shot into a thicket of players just inside the Newcastle box. Unsurprisingly, it’s blocked and cleared. But this is all Chelsea in the opening exchanges.
7 min: This corner leads to a small game of head tennis, and eventually the flag pops up for offside. Chelsea’s first sustained period of pressure comes to an end.
6 min: Willian earns the first corner of the game, bursting down the left and playing the ball off Fernandez. Chelsea take it short, working it back to Hudson-Odoi, who tears down the inside-left channel and wins a second corner, this time off Almiron.
5 min: So having said that, Newcastle build a patient attack, hogging the ball down the right flank. Eventually Almiron hooks a deep cross towards Saint-Maximin, who can’t keep his header, intended to flash back across goal from the left, in play.
4 min: Newcastle seem happy to sit back, coiled and ready to spring on the counter when they break up Chelsea’s attacks. This shouldn’t come as a huge surprise: they’ve got the lowest possession percentage of any team in this season’s Premier League: 33.6%. Burnley are the next cab on the rank with a whopping 40.1%.
2 min: All a bit scrappy in the opening exchanges. Clark taking an aeon over a throw near the halfway line doesn’t help the early momentum.
Here we go, then! Chelsea get the ball rolling. A lively afternoon-spent-in-the-Strawberry atmosphere at St James’ Park. Long may it continue.
Howay the lads! The teams are out! Newcastle are in their famous black and white stripes, while Chelsea sport their storied royal blue. A quick blast of the theme from the greatest film ever made, and we’ll be off.
Here’s Frank Lampard, who has never lost to Steve Bruce in the Premier League either as a player or manager. It’s 14 wins and four draws from 18 games! “A lot of results Newcastle have got, and they’ve got some good results this year, have been in a certain way. So we can look at that. But they also have threats in forward areas. They have some danger as well.” He adds that they’ve been working on breaking down packed defences, admitting it’s something they occasionally struggle to do. As for the recall of N’Golo Kante? “It’s a good thing to have competition, so Ross Barkley can and should feel disappointed, and that’s part of my job. Everyone has to be on their toes and playing well.”
Steve Bruce talks! “It’s good to see the bigger players back. We have been up against it. I’ve never witnessed anything like the Leicester thing when we lost four players in 12 minutes. Let’s hope we stay fit and healthy. When your better players are not there, you’re up against it. Joelinton has been having a tough time, he’s got a goal the other night, so let’s hope it’s done the trick. He’s a good player. Almiron was the same, he’s now got four in the last six. So let’s hope that continues.”
Newcastle make six changes to the XI sent out against Rochdale in midweek. Martin Dubravka, Jonjo Shelvey, Ciaran Clark, Jetro Willems, Federico Fernandez and Allan Saint-Maximin are back; Karl Darlow, Florian Lejeune, Matt Ritchie, Christian Atsu and both Longstaffs step down.
Chelsea make one change to the team that beat Burnley 3-0 last Saturday. N’Golo Kante relegates Ross Barkley to a seat on the bench.
The teams
Newcastle United: Dubravka, Krafth, Fernandez, Lascelles, Clark, Willems, Almiron, Hayden, Shelvey, Saint-Maximin, Joelinton.
Subs: Schar, Ritchie, Lejeune, Darlow, Atsu, Sean Longstaff, Matthew Longstaff.
Chelsea: Arrizabalaga, James, Christensen, Rudiger, Azpilicueta, Kante, Jorginho, Mount, Hudson-Odoi, Abraham, Willian.
Subs: Barkley, Pedro, Caballero, Zouma, Kovacic, Batshuayi, Emerson Palmieri.
Referee: Chris Kavanagh (Lancashire).
Preamble
It’s hard to get a handle on these two teams. Newcastle started the Premier League season with five losses in their first nine. They then won six from 11, magically transforming themselves into a comfortable mid-table team. And now another slide: one point from the last 12 on offer. Thirteenth place in the table is about right, but they’ll have to start winning a few more games soon, or they’ll be back in the basement lickety split.
Chelsea aren’t exactly the most predictable either. Just two wins from their first eight fixtures in all competitions this season, followed by seven victories on the spin. In the last month or so they’ve been turned over by the likes of West Ham, Everton, Bournemouth and Southampton; during the same period they’ve also enjoyed big wins at Arsenal and Tottenham. Another curate’s egg of a side.
But Chelsea are in fourth spot despite it all, and will be favourites to prevail this evening. Not least because they’ve won six of the last seven matches between these two clubs, the exception being a final-day 3-0 breeze for Newcastle at the end of the 2017-18 season, when Antonio Conte’s head was elsewhere. Frank Lampard’s men have also had the week off to prepare, while Steve Bruce’s side were forced to replay their third-round FA Cup tie with Rochdale. The Toon will hope the mental boost of a 4-1 win will offset any physical consequences.
Kick off is at 5.30pm GMT. Saturday night prime-time entertainment is ON!
