After being dumped out of the League Cup in midweek by Man City, you would be forgiven for expecting a reaction from Chelsea at St James’ Park.
However, it was Newcastle who did all the early running, and in the form of his life, few would begrudge Miguel Almirón a strike at goal as he went in search of a fifth successive scoring appearance, but his fierce volley inside the opening 15 minutes flew handsomely over the crossbar.
Chelsea really struggled to find any first half momentum, registering just a sole shot across the opening 45 minutes and leaving Graham Potter with questions to answer at half-time.
The Blues boss thought he could change the flow of the game with a substitution at the break, but it perhaps didn’t play out the way he had hoped at first, with Sean Longstaff spurning two glorious opportunities to fire Newcastle ahead in the early stages of the second half.
The Magpies eventually bore the fruit of their pressure shortly after the hour mark, and while the man of the moment Almirón was involved, it was Joe Willock who stepped forward to curl home a sumptuous effort in front of the Gallowgate End.
Chelsea’s response was relatively muted despite Potter throwing one last roll of the dice with a triple substitution in the wake of Newcastle’s goal, as the Blues slumped to a third successive league defeat for the first time since November 2015 when José Mourinho was at the helm.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Kieran Trippier (Newcastle United)
