Newcastle United faced off against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge earlier this afternoon as they looked to grind out a result away from home. The Magpies were solid in the first half and managed to get to the half-time break with a goalless scoreline.
Eddie Howe’s players kept a good defensive shape in the second 45 minutes as well. However, Newcastle’s brave defensive resistance was finally broken in the 89th minute when Kai Havertz popped up to score the winning goal for Chelsea with a great finish. The match ended with the Tyneside outfit suffering a narrow 1-0 loss on the road.
Let’s take a look at how each Newcastle player performed during the contest against the Blues.
GK: Martin Dubravka – 6/10
The Magpies keeper made one good save during the game but couldn’t do much about Havertz’s excellent finish in the 89th minute.
RB: Javier Manquillo – 6/10
The Spaniard got stuck in with some solid tackles but failed to make an impact in the final third.
CB: Jamaal Lascelles – 6.5/10
Lascelles did well to keep the Chelsea attackers frustrated for most of the game.
CB: Fabian Schar – 7/10
He made plenty of crucial clearances at the back and was a threat at the other end as well.
CB: Dan Burn – 6.5/10
The English talent made some crucial defensive contributions inside his half but could have done better to prevent Havertz’s winning goal.
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LB: Matt Targett – 7/10
Targett was solid at the back and engineered a couple of inviting chances for his teammates to score.
RW: Miguel Almiron – 7/10
Almiron caused a few problems for the Chelsea defenders but never looked like he had a goal in him.
CM: Bruno Guimaraes – 6.5/10
He worked his socks off to anchor the midfield for Newcastle but struggled to influence the game in the final third.
CM: Sean Longstaff – 6/10
Longstaff was full of energy but struggled to get into the rhythm of the game.
LW: Jacob Murphy – 6/10
He made two encouraging runs with the ball but hardly got a sniff at goal.
ST: Chris Wood – 6/10
Wood was a frustrated figure inside the opponent’s half as he was often outnumbered by the Chelsea centre-backs.
Substitutes:
LW: Allan Saint-Maximin – 6/10
He failed to use his pace effectively to run in behind the Chelsea backline.
ST: Dwight Gayle – N/A
Gayle didn’t get enough minutes to warrant a rating.
RW: Ryan Fraser – N/A
He hardly had any time to influence the game.
