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Mauricio Pochettino was under massive pressure on Monday night.
After a very scrappy game of football where both teams repeatedly gave the ball away, Chelsea were slightly less worse than Newcastle United.
Mauricio Pochettino declaring Chelsea ‘were very good’ after the final whistle.
I would say ‘were very lucky’ because if Newcastle United had played anything close to what they are capable of and showed even a little composure, then there is no way Chelsea would have won this. Even then they needed a sixth minute gift with Botman producing a shocking clearance and words fail me for how Dubravka then managed to let that opening goal in, as Jacksom actually deflected the trundled Palmer strike towards the United keeper, yet the ball crept in two or three yards inside Dubravka’s right post.
Mauricio Pochettino reacting to Chelsea 3 Newcastle 2:
“It’s a massive three points for us.
“We beat a very good team.
“We scored three goals and were very good.
“I am disappointed in the way we conceded the goals because we need to be a bit more mature and show more capacity to fix this kind of situation.
“It’s the first time we played with this defensive line and with this combination they need to work better and know each other but overall, I am very happy.
“He [Cole Palmer] is doing well.
“He arrived on the last day of the transfer window but it was easy for him to adapt to the team and the demands of the coaching staff.
“I think he is showing his quality and how he can link the game.
“Of course, he [Jackson] is improving.
“We need to understand the players when they are young and arrive from outside of England. They need time to learn the Premier League.
“They also need their teammates to perform but he is doing really well. The effort is there, you see that with how he presses, and he has the quality. With more games and more experience, he is going to be more calm and more clinical in front of the goal.
“He has the capacity to be an offensive player that can score a lot of goals for Chelsea, we need to keep believing.
“I think it was a very good goal [from Mudryk]. That is what we expect of a player who came from the bench – have an impact.
“Some offensive players are starting to score more and that is important. They are feeling the confidence and feeling the net. But we still need to improve.
‘We concede two goals that we should not concede in this way.
“We were so disappointed because we made two mistakes that should not happen at this level but it is a moment to learn and improve from.’
“They (Chelsea fans) need to realise and we need to realise, that we need to stay together.
“In the end, this group of players are going to fight and give our fans the best things we can do.
“We need to build this relationship and I think scoring early today helped and the fans were good.
“They were behind us but we need to keep going.
“Our concern is to perform and win games and to build our relationship, they need to trust in us through our performance.”
Stats via BBC Sport:
Chelsea 3 Newcastle 2 – Monday 11 March 8pm:
Goals:
Newcastle United:
Isak 43, Murphy 90
Chelsea:
Jackson 6, Palmer 57, Mudryk 76
(Half-time stats in brackets)
Possession was Chelsea 45% (42%) Newcastle 55% (58%)
Total shots were Chelsea 12 (7) Newcastle 11 (5)
Shots on target were Chelsea 8 (4) Newcastle 3 (1)
Corners were Chelsea 0 (0) Newcastle 4 (1)
Referee: John Brooks
Newcastle team v Chelsea:
Dubravka, Livramento, Schar, Botman, Burn (Krafth 69), Longstaff, Bruno (White 81), Willock (Miley 80), Almiron (Anderson 69), Gordon (Murphy 36), Isak
Unused subs:
Karius, Lascelles, Ritchie, Targett
(Doesn’t sound good on Anthony Gordon – Read HERE)
(Watch official Chelsea 3 Newcastle 2 match highlights HERE – All 5 goals and how did that go in?)
(Chelsea 3 Newcastle 2 – Match ratings and comments on all Newcastle United players – Read HERE)
(Chelsea 3 Newcastle 2 – Instant Newcastle United fan / writer reaction – Read HERE)
Newcastle United confirmed matches to mid-April 2024:
Saturday 16 March 2024 – Man City v Newcastle (5.30pm) BBC1
Saturday 30 March 2024 – Newcastle v West Ham (12.30pm) TNT Sports
Tuesday 2 April 2024 – Newcastle v Everton (7.30pm) TNT Sports
Saturday 6 April 2024 – Fulham v Newcastle (3pm)
Saturday 13 April 2024 – Newcastle v Spurs (12.30pm) TNT Sports