Graham Potter has paid tribute to Newcastle United's 'huge intensity' but the Chelsea boss felt the Magpies benefited from a lighter schedule following his side's defeat.
Newcastle moved nine points clear of Chelsea in third place following a 1-0 win at St James' Park in the final match before the World Cup break. In a game of few clear cut chances, Joe Willock's superb first-time effort settled the contest midway through the second half.
Chelsea, who started with a back five and relied on the counter attack, did not offer a great deal but, regardless, relentless Newcastle simply did not let the visitors settle. Potter, himself, said as much after the game as the Chelsea manager hailed Newcastle as 'one of the best teams defensively' in the Premier League, who 'don't make it easy for you'
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However, Potter also made a point of saying his players had an 'incredibly challenging' few weeks following 13 games in a month-and-a-half - four more than Newcastle had faced in the same period. In saying that, it is worth bearing in mind that Howe's side were also playing their third match in six days on Saturday yet the hosts still managed to get over the line as Potter saw first-hand.
"We're playing against a team that's in a really good moment and playing with huge intensity," Potter told reporters. "Whilst I thought the first half was relatively even, they started the second half better than us and we had to adjust a little bit. I thought we did that.
"Conor [Gallagher] had an opportunity. [Nick] Pope made a good save, but then Newcastle scored. We had to push again. I don't think we had too many unforced errors to maintain any real quality, any real pressure, but credit to Newcastle. They're playing well, they're in a really good moment, and you can probably see the difference between the schedules in terms of one game a week versus the intense period we've had."
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