Except for the heroic match between Man City and Liverpool at Etihad, attention in round 13 of the 2023/24 Premier League is probably focused on St James’ Park, where Chelsea faces Newcastle.
Everyone wants to see what side the Blues will show after playing a top match against Man City. Many fans are optimistic that Mauricio Pochettino’s team will handle Newcastle – the team that previously suffered two consecutive defeats in all competitions, respectively at the hands of Dortmund in the Champions League and Bournemouth in the Premier League.
However, all predictions were wrong. From the expected position of a hunter, Chelsea became easy prey for Newcastle. The Blues not only lost but also lost heavily. It was thought that the break to make way for the recent national team gathering would be the perfect opportunity for Pochettino to learn lessons and sharpen Chelsea to become stronger and sharper, but it all turned out to be an illusion. Chelsea completed Chelsea again – a fragile and inexperienced team.
Against Newcastle, Chelsea actually lost. They played not too bad, especially in the ball circulation stage with a certain smoothness, coordination and confidence. However, the deadly flaws in the defense caused the away team to pay a very high price. At the first goal, there was a forest of blue-shirted shadows in the penalty area with no one accompanying Alexander Isak, and at the same time there was absolutely no reaction to Lewis Miley’s pass.
When the Chelsea players were still raising their hands to signal offside, the ball was already in the net.To be fair, Chelsea played well after this loss. Raheem Sterling’s wonderful flash of light helped them equalize, followed by many impressive attack arrangements. However, the Blues defense once again did not do its job well, allowing Jamaal Lascelles to comfortably head in to increase the score to 2-1. The climax of the error came just 1 minute later, when veteran midfielder Thiago Silva “gave a gift” to Joelinton with an inexcusable loss of the ball. Chelsea were completely defeated from here, and the second yellow card of captain-defender Reece James further emphasized the immaturity of this team.
Chelsea deserved to lose, and it shows why they are currently only 10th on the rankings. On a nice day, The Blues can make the defending European champions sweat, but the same team can still “cosplay” into a mid-range team as easily as the hands of their hands. Obviously, stability is something Chelsea is seriously lacking at the moment.
In fact, this is the key to helping clubs achieve success. No team can win the cup, or at least have a high ranking without instability. Unfortunately, stability is a luxury for Chelsea at this time.