Newcastle 2 Chelsea 0 – First half good, second half tense! | OneFootball

First half good, second half tense, to misquote a late England manager from the land of Isak.

Tonali’s early strike, scored after he had won possession, set the tone as we pressed Chelsea back.

Jackson’s most important strike of the season, bang into Botman’s face, cemented our already strong grip against a bunch of cheating, whinging, cynical johnny-come-latelies. Did the row over Mings last night influence the VAR?

We should have scored another before the interval. Isak misfired when in a good position 10 yards out and if not for the impressive Chalobah (an unlikely phrase) we would have put the game to bed early doors.

Murphy was excellent at right wing-back. His versatility is a big plus, especially with the extra workload we will face next season.

James, an England full-back, arrived for the second half to supplement Chelsea’s threat down our left flank. The first incident saw Livramento injured by another challenge in which Chelsea went for the man instead of the ball. The ref saw nothing wrong and also waved away a barge by James into the back of Gordon. Had the moaning worked?

They were playing a more open game without managing to test Pope, probably because they had no centre-forward.

Miley replaced Botman on 55 minutes as Howe tweaked his unfamiliar formation.

Chelsea finally extended Pope with a low Cucurella shot as they enjoyed nearly 80% possession in the second half. It was a rare threat.

Gordon made way for Krafth on 65 minutes in an attempt to tighten the game.

Palmer won a corner with neat footwork on the left but they made nothing of it. With 10 against 11, not the smartest tactic to play it short.

Yet another foul aerial challenge, somewhat of a Chelsea speciality, halted their momentum.

Guimaraes blasted a decent chance high and wide from a tight angle before Chelsea brought on Gusto and Sancho.

Palmer, who did nothing to boost his massive reputation, swiped an opening high into the Leazes End.

Caicedo committed his umpteenth foul to relieve the siege in the last 10 minutes. James then sent a header a foot over the bar on 88 minutes when under no pressure.

Another Caicedo foul gave us the opening we needed to seal the deal. Burn was found beyond the far post and he tapped the ball to Guimaraes 20 yards out. His curling shot deflected off Gusto and into the net, Sweet!

Two more mountains to climb. Six more points would match our best Premier League finish and put the cherry on top of a wonderful season.

Newcastle 2 Chelsea 0 – Sunday 11 May 12pm

Goals:

Newcastle United:

Tonali 2, Bruno 90

Chelsea:

Jackson red card 35

Possession was Newcastle 45% Chelsea 55%

Total shots were Newcastle 15 Chelsea 10

Shots on target were Newcastle 6 Chelsea 3

Corners were Newcastle 2 Chelsea 8

Touches in the box Newcastle 39 Chelsea 22

Newcastle United team v Chelsea:

Pope, Botman (Miley 55), Schar, Burn, Livramento, Gordon (Krafth 65), Tonali, Bruno (Longstaff 94), Barnes, Isak (Wilson 94), Murphy

Subs: