Chelsea showed incoming coach Mauricio Pochettino that he has plenty to work with as they put in a strong performance in Sunday’s 1-1 draw against Newcastle. It has been a horrid season for the Blues but they put the Champions League-bound Magpies under a lot of pressure at Stamford Bridge to give their fans reason to expect better in 2023-24. They may have gone a goal down early on through some embarrassing defending, but the likes of Raheem Sterling, Noni Madueke, Lewis Hall and Enzo Fernandez looked quality as they matched Newcastle in Frank Lampard’s final game in charge.
Here are the three Chelsea players to blame for their draw with Newcastle United
Conor Gallagher
Played very high up the pitch, just as he did against Man United but didn’t do much beyond his typical work rate and running ability.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek
A very quiet display from the homegrown midfielder who has serious transfer interest from AC Milan with just one year left on his deal. He looked emotional when he came off.
Kai Havertz
Pretty anonymous, to be honest. There are a couple of times where he has the ball in dangerous positions and you want him to shoot but instead he passes.
