That’s me done for the evening. Thanks for reading and for your emails and tweets. Cheers!
Eddie Howe is the next to talk to the cameras.
Strange game. Frustrating one, as we conceded from their first attack. We were really good in spells, but unfortunately not good enough overall.
We didn’t defend well enough. A familiar feeling. It’s been a tough period for us. We left feeling deflated and disappointed.
Gordon was in a pain at half-time. All I can say is that it’s a knee injury. We don’t know much at the moment.
It’s a quick turnaround for us. It’s a unique game [against City]. We have to prepare properly.
Jacob Steinberg's match report from Stamford Bridge
For so many teams, this is the business end of the season. Chelsea and Newcastle don’t have much to play for in the league, maybe Europa League qualification at a stretch. But that’s why this weekend’s FA Cup quarter-finals are so important, for Chelsea and Newcastle to salvage their seasons.
Eddie Howe’s side travel to … Manchester City.
Chelsea host Championship Leicester on Sunday.
Cole Palmer, tonight’s player of the match, talks to the cameras.
We’ve had some difficult results, the cup final and Wolves, so tonight was vital for us. We showed some passion, not getting bullied.
I’m ready to play football week-in, week-out and that’s why [I left Manchester City]. It was a difficult decision, I was there since I was six years old.
I just want to play my football, and we’ll see what happens in the summer [with England at the Euros].
There’s so much talent at Chelsea. We’re so young, it’s a project. I think we’ll see a big improvement, if not next season, then the season after that.
Here’s what that result does to the Premier League table (nothing in terms of positions, Chelsea stay 11th).
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arsenal | 28 | 46 | 64 |
| 2 | Liverpool | 28 | 39 | 64 |
| 3 | Man City | 28 | 35 | 63 |
| 4 | Aston Villa | 28 | 18 | 55 |
| 5 | Tottenham Hotspur | 27 | 20 | 53 |
| 6 | Man Utd | 28 | 0 | 47 |
| 7 | West Ham | 28 | -4 | 43 |
| 8 | Brighton | 28 | 6 | 42 |
| 9 | Wolverhampton | 28 | -2 | 41 |
| 10 | Newcastle | 28 | 11 | 40 |
| 11 | Chelsea | 27 | 2 | 39 |
| 12 | Fulham | 28 | -4 | 35 |
| 13 | AFC Bournemouth | 27 | -12 | 32 |
| 14 | Crystal Palace | 28 | -15 | 29 |
| 15 | Brentford | 28 | -12 | 26 |
| 16 | Everton | 28 | -10 | 25 |
| 17 | Nottm Forest | 28 | -16 | 24 |
| 18 | Luton | 27 | -17 | 21 |
| 19 | Burnley | 28 | -35 | 14 |
| 20 | Sheff Utd | 28 | -50 | 14 |
Full-time: Chelsea 3-2 Newcastle
Newcastle didn’t really trouble Chelsea in those final minutes. Murphy set up what could have been a tense finish, but it wasn’t to be.
90+5 min: Yellow card for Joe White, who brings Mudryk down. Chelsea will try to waste some time by the corner flag.
90+2 min: This would be very Chelsea 2023-24 to give this away.
90 min: Six minutes for Newcastle to find an equaliser! Suddenly those changes look a bit foolish. I bet Howe wishes he still had Bruno Guimarães on the pitch. I bet Pochettino wishes he still had Palmer on the pitch, to bring a sense of composure and calm to proceedings.
GOAL! Chelsea 3-2 Newcastle (Murphy 90)
Hang on a minute, this game is not done!
What. A. Hit. Murphy rolls Cucurella on the right, advances to the right side of the box and unleashes an absolute piledriver into the top bins! That was postage stamp stuff, flying inside Petrovic’s near post, but you wouldn’t say the Chelsea goalkeeper is at fault. Just an unbelievable strike, I’d like to know what the speed gun said on that.
Updated
88 min: Mudryk, who has looked so sharp and direct since coming on, heads off on another adventure. Skipping around two challenges, he sprints at considerable haste to the byline but can only cross into the hands of Dubravka. The Ukrainian is so dangerous when he’s in the mood, though.
86 min: Palmer is MoM, but some other sneaky good performances out there for Chelsea. Caicedo, Jackson and Enzo.
84 min: Chelsea, suggesting that they think the game is in the bag, also make a change. Cole Palmer, surely tonight’s player of the match, comes off for Casadei. The young Italian is making his home debut.
82 min: Not for the first time tonight, or the first time this season, Jacob Murphy flashes an excellent low cross across Chelsea’s goal. Nobody on the end of it. Eddie How will be pulling his hair out.
80 min: Newcastle, perhaps admitting that their race is run tonight, make two more changes. Bruno Guimarães comes off for Miley, while Willock comes off for Joe White.
78 min: Again, that was really impressive from Jackson, who has lead the line well tonight. He made the goal, really, although Mudryk finishes it with confidence that has often been lacking.
GOAL! Chelsea 3-1 Newcastle (Mudryk 76)
Chelsea hit Newcastle on the counter attack, and that should be the game! Jackson spins Botman and drives up the left. A neat pass inside finds Gallagher, but Mudryk takes the ball off his teammates’ toes, nutmegs Schar to put himself clean through. Dubravka spreads himself, but Mudryk skips around the keeper and slides the ball into the net. Krafth tries desperately on the line to keep it out, but the Swede can’t. Great goal.
Updated
74 min: The game is definitely in the balance here.
72 min: Caicedo is the next Chelsea player to go into the book. Livramento, now playing at left back after Burn’s departure (with Krafth right back), made a nice dash up the wing. He rode the challenge of Enzo, but Caicedo brings him down. I thought the Ecuadorian got the ball, but replays show it was a cynical challenge.
71 min: Yellow card for Petrovic! Timewasting!
70 min: Chelsea respond with a substitution of their own: Sterling off for Mudryk.
68 min: Whether it is enforced or not, Newcastle make two changes. Krafth on for the hobbling Burn, Almiron off for Anderson. Not a like-for-like change, the latter one. Maybe a change of shape for Newcastle?
66 min: One area Newcastle are strong in is set pieces. Burn, Schar, Botman, Longstaff, Isak are all a handful in the middle. From a deep free-kick, Burn heads wide, and it looks like the big left back is injured, falling awkwardly. He’s down, and doesn’t look particularly happy writhing on the ground.
63 min: I mentioned it before the game, but Newcastle’s lack of options on the bench is worrying. Who of Lascelles, Ritchie, Targett, Krafth, Karius, Anderson, White, Miley could make an attacking impact? Maybe the young Miley, to add some fresh legs in midfield? Slim pickings.
61 min: That’s the fifth league game this season where Palmer has both a goal and an assist. No other player in the league can match that tally. Tottenham’s Son Heung-min is the nearest with four games.
Palmer’s assist at Brentford meant he overtook Arjen Robben’s 16 (2004-05) goal involvements in league games for a Chelsea player aged 21 or under. Now Palmer is up to 18.
59 min: Just as Chelsea were wasteful before Newcastle’s equaliser, the visitors were guilty there. Two or three times they gave away possession cheaply. Palmer had found pockets of space a few times before, the warning signs were there. He’s a special player. Always has time on the ball. Feels like he will certainly be in Southgate’s summer plans.
GOAL! Chelsea 2-1 Newcastle (Palmer 57)
Chelsea have been dominant these past few minutes, with Palmer makes Newcastle pay! He collects the ball in tight space just outside the box, and lets’s fly. It goes through Botman’s legs, hard and low, and creeps inside Dubravka’s near post. A brilliant finish. Chelsea lead!
Updated
55 min: Another email from Chris Paraskevas:
There’s no doubt that Martin Tyler formed the soundtrack to so many of our football lives (Down Under at least, where he frequently covered World Cups for SBS Television, starting at Italia ‘90 I believe).
But the Peter Brackley Book Of Pro Evo quips are truly the pinnacle of football commentary (ably abetted by Trevor Brooking):
“In the opening minutes of the second half!”
“Oh, I say!”
“That’s right: Peter.”
Ah, yes. Nostalgia.
53 min: Chelsea break, and Sterling finds some space. He drives at Botman, shooting wide when he might have been better slipping in a teammate.
51 min: Palmer v Burn is a total mismatch. The Chelsea man is tying the Newcastle full back in knots. Eventually Longstaff comes across to help, but Palmer slips them both, and darts a brilliant cross across the face of Newcastle’s goal. A delivery begging to be tapped in, where was Jackson? Gallagher was the closest to it, but it’s the Englishman that ended up in the net, rather than the ball.
50 min: My football editor, Marcus Christenson, is quite excited about Sweden’s new attack: “Isak, Kulusevski, Goykares. Jon Dahl Tomasson has a lot of firepower to work with”.
Hard to disagree with that, but Sweden don’t have the same quality in midfield or defence.
48 min: Newcastle take the corner short before Bruno Guimarães whips a wondrous inswinger across the face of Chelsea’s goal. The corridor of uncertainty, I think they call it. The ball was almost too good, too much pace for either defender or attacker to clear or poke home.
47 min: Newcastle immediately on the offensive. Isak holds off Disasi and feeds Almiron, who stings the palms of Petrovic. Good save, and did well to divert it over rather than back into a dangerous area.
Peeeeeep! We’re off again at Stamford Bridge.
Half-time reading, courtesy of Jonathan Wilson.
Updated
Half-time: Chelsea 1-1 Newcastle
A frantic end to that half. Honours even.
45+4 min: Chelsea race up the other end and nearly retake the lead! Palmer shows poise and guile to find Gusto on the byline. The right back crosses deep to Gallagher, who nods back to Sterling, who finds a yard and smashes a shot right down the throat of Dubravka! Great chance!
45+3 min: Willock races through on goal, chests it down but can’t finish! He lifts an easy finish over Petrovic and over the bar. Willock was actually flagged for offside, but replays show he was on! That would have counted, if Willock had put it in the end.
Jackson scores … but it's ruled out for offside!
45+1 min: Newcastle play an extremely high line and Chelsea break. Jackson is clean through, skips around a retreating Schar and slides the ball under Dubravka. A finish finish … but ruled out for offside. Replays show the Chelsea striker was just one yard beyond Botman, who was the last man.
Updated
45 min: I used to play with someone that was an expert at that Isak move. RB7, shift and bang. Or an R2 finish, for all the Pro Evo heads.
GOAL! Chelsea 1-1 Newcastle (Isak 43)
A clinical finish after some absolutely atrocious play from Chelsea. The hosts must have given the ball away three times inside 15 seconds. Eventually Bruno Guimarães gets hold of it, slips Isak through. The Swede has one man to beat, but instead of doing any shimmying, simply sidefoots it past Petrovic from the edge of the box. Right into the corner! How on earth did he create that much power with so little backlift?
Updated
41 min: This isn’t a great game. But it’s quite an intriguing one.
39 min: Yellow card for Sterling, who catches Livramento inside Chelsea’s half. A good chance to put the ball into the Blues box. Up come Burn, Botman and Schar, but it’s actually Isak that heads the ball over Chelsea’s bar.
37 min: Couple of half chances for Newcastle as Murphy and Almiron both flash dangerous crosses across Chelsea’s six-yard box. The latter cross just evades Willock, with Cucurella able to ease the Englishman off the ball. Better from the visitors, though, who look much more likely to score as the end of this half nears.
34 min: Gordon goes down under pressure from Cucurella. The Englishman is clutching his knee. He’s not happy, shaking his head as he receives treatment. Did he twist his knee, or was that related to the earlier incident?
He’s going to have to come off. A real shame, as he would have wanted to impress Southgate, watching on. On comes Jacob Murphy.
Updated
32 min: “Adam Sandler films are the Chelsea footballers of the movie business” emails Niall Mullen. “There are thousands of them, they cost way more than you think, and only about four of them are any good.”
29 min: Newcastle are pressing high, but Chelsea are playing nicely out of the trap. Enzo particularly neat in those tight spaces.
27 min: Almiron and Gordon have switched flanks, with the latter now on the right wing. Both Cucurella and Gusto are tested, but both stick to their defensive guns.
24 min: “What a joy it is to listen to Martin Tyler’s crisp and clear commentary, uncluttered by an endless stream of meaningless statistics that some of his colleagues are addicted to”, emails Allegra.
Indeed, it is worth reminding our English readers that Tyler is still working as a Premier League commentator for audiences abroad. He’s still the best in the business, in my opinion. I spoke to Tyler last week, actually, and asked him if he had any bad blood towards Sky after they didn’t renew his contract, but said he didn’t have a bad word to say against them.
22 min: Palmer is at the centre of all things good for Chelsea. First he cuts inside from the right wing and finds a clever pass to Enzo, who shoots high and wide. Next, Palmer feeds Jackson with a brilliant ball over the top, but the striker is on his heels slightly, and Botman beats him to the ball.
20 min: Decent counter attack from Chelsea, as Cucurella nips in to beat Almiron to the ball. Sterling drives inside from the left wing before Jackson tries his luck from 25 yards. It’s on target, but Dubravka is down to it easily enough.
17 min: Better from Newcastle, who are enjoying more possession and probing for an opening. Chelsea are sitting deep in their shape, though, and look comfortable, for now.
15 min: Livramento is the next to go down, after an innocuous collision with Cucurella. Is he another that could play for England in the international break. Normally, with England’s wealth of options of right back, you would say no. But Alexander-Arnold, Trippier and Reece James are all injured. Walker and Ben White are the only other rivals I can see.
13 min: Anthony Gordon pulls up after a sprint, grimacing a bit. Gareth Southgate is in the stands tonight, so he won’t want to go off. Has every chance of being included in the England squad for the forthcoming fixtures against Belgium and Brazil.
11 min: Bruno Guimarães and Caicedo have clashed a couple of times in the middle of the park. Another tasty little battle there.
9 min: Let’s give Jackson his flowers, that was a proper striker’s goal. He knew exactly where the goal was, and judged a spinning ball really well to guide it into the corner. There have definitely been some rash misses this season, but plenty of good signs as well for Jackson. I still think he could be a success at Chelsea, but will need to have a good run of form before the end of the season to prevent the Blues spending big again on a replacement.
GOAL! Chelsea 1-0 Newcastle (Jackson 7)
A goal out of nothing! Gusto drives to the byline but his cross is cleared by Botman at the near post, only as far as Palmer on the edge of the box. The former City man tries a right-footed shot, but he drags it wide through a crowd of bodies. One of those, Jackson, instinctively flicks the ball with his instep, and guides the shot into the corner past Dubravka! It’s a brilliant improvised finish from the Senegalese!
Updated
6 min: “Was that really 12 years ago?” emails Matthew Guite of the Cissé goals in 2012. “It never got the appreciation it deserved as it was a midweek fill-in game and there wasn’t MOTD2. A Chelsea fan of my acquaintance said even the hard core stood up and applauded.”
Love that.
4 min: In a pretty terrible season for Chelsea, I have been really impressed by Gusto, who wins his first duel with Gordon out on Newcastle’s left. That will be a key battle, you would think.
2 min: Early pressure from Newcastle on Cucurella. That’s obviously a trigger for their press. Let’s see how the Spaniard deals with it in the next few minutes.
Peeeeeeep! We’re off at the Bridge.
The teams are out. Kick-off in a couple of minutes.
Mauricio Pochettino has been chatting to the Sky cameras:
“Both [Gallagher and Cucurella] were involved against Brentford and they had a good week. It is important we start with him [Cucurella] as he is OK. Conor Gallagher is in a good condition [after struggling with illness] and that is why they are ready to play.”
Adam Sandler is at Stamford Bridge tonight, up in the posh seats. The highest paid actor in Hollywood, apparently.
This is worth a read, although it’s fairly miserly behaviour.
“G’Day Michael,” emails Chris Paraskevas from Australia. “I’ve just seen footage of the player and staff entrance at Stamford Bridge: the neon lights, offensively auto-tuned “RnB” music, the hordes of adoring teenagers and that one guy in the line who is too young to be allowed in (Lewis Miley)... it all takes me back to my clubbing “prime” in my early-to-mid 20s. Mind you: a night out “clubbing” usually meant trying to find a convenient excuse to leave early and watch Newcastle embarrass themselves at 2am. I missed out on meeting so many potential girlfriends and would probably be (un)happily married by now, but I saw that Cisse double live and that’s what matters in life”.
Sport is such a good bookmark to our lives. A sporting memory, playing or watching something, can spark lot of other little hidden gems locked away in our heads. I’m pleased those neon lights did something for you, Chris.
Have a read of today’s Football Daily, if you like.
Let’s unpack those teams a little.
For Chelsea:
Chalobah preferred to Thiago Silva at centre back. I’m not sure I would fancy the Brazilian against Isak, either. Cucurella comes in for his first start since December. He hasn’t started in a league win since October. Sterling gets the nod over Mudryk, Madueke, and Chukwuemeka. Chelsea look like they are lining up in a 4-2-3-1.
For Newcastle:
Willock starts ahead of Miley but otherwise that’s a fairly strong, settled team. Yes, there are plenty of injuries – Joelinton, Nick Pope, Callum Wilson and captain Kieran Trippier are all sidelined, and Lewis Hall unavailable against his parent club – but there are some fine back ups, including Tino Livramento, who only left Chelsea in 2021. He’s a brilliant player. What is interesting is the lack of a threat on the bench, not one attacking player. Jacob Murphy can run around a bit on the wing, but there’s nobody obvious that can change the game.
The teams!
Chelsea: Petrovic, Gusto, Disasi, Chalobah, Cucurella, Fernandez, Caicedo, Palmer, Gallagher, Sterling, Jackson.
Subs: Sanchez, Thiago Silva, Mudryk, Madueke, Chukwuemeka, Casadei, Deivid Washington, Gilchrist, Acheampong.
Newcastle: Dubravka, Livramento, Schar, Botman, Burn, Longstaff, Bruno Guimaraes, Willock, Almiron, Isak, Gordon.
Subs: Lascelles, Ritchie, Targett, Krafth, Karius, Jacob Murphy, Anderson, White, Miley.
Referee: John Brooks
Preamble
Newcastle arrived at Stamford Bridge on the evening of 2 May 2012 having not won a league match there since 1986. They left with a famous three points, made all the sweeter by the nature of the winning goals. I’m not sure I’ve seen a better double strike by a single player than the two goals Papise Cissé scored that night.
Papiss Cisse. Stamford Bridge. 2012.
— Premier League (@premierleague) May 2, 2019
You know the rest... #OnThisDay @CissePapiss pic.twitter.com/Nt72Ro6b8s
The second goal is arguably one of the greatest ever scored in the Premier League. Cissé means it, absolutely no doubt. This isn’t a lucky pop, but rather a calculated, audacious wonderstrike that almost defies logic to beat Prime Petr Cech. And the quality of the second strike rather overshadows the first, which is a brilliant goal in its own right: instinctive and powerful.
It was a vintage Newcastle team, full of both talent and cult heroes. Hatem Ben Arfa, Jonás Manuel Gutiérrez, Fabricio Coloccini, Demba Ba, Shola Ameobi – led by none other than Alan ‘Hips’ Pardew – comfortably beat a Chelsea side that would, just over two weeks later, go on to win the Champions League. Newcastle haven’t won at Stamford Bridge since. Their Premier League record at the Bridge looks like: played 28, lost 20, drew seven and won one.
Let’s see if Newcastle can improve that desperate record tonight. They won’t have a much better opportunity, against this rather dispirited and depleted Chelsea side.
Kick-off: 8pm GMT
