Chelsea suffered another blow in their quest for Champions League football after they were beaten 1-0 by Newcastle United.
The Blues went into the game off the back of a disappointing defeat to Paris Saint-Germain in midweek, leaving their European dreams in the balance. A top-four finish is now the only realistic route to the Champions League next season. Chelsea had made a statement with a big win over Aston Villa recently, moving them three points outside the top four.
But Liam Rosenior’s men were poor at Stamford Bridge. Anthony Gordon scored the only goal of the game in the first half, securing a rare Newcastle win at Stamford Bridge.
In this article, we’ll cover:
Chelsea’s Cole Palmer problem
Cole Palmer was excellent for Chelsea in his first season at the club. He wasn’t too bad last season, but suffered for form at times alongside injuries. And that’s even more the case in 2025-26.
The Englishman looks off the boil and out of confidence, and it’s hurting Chelsea. They look to get him on the ball a lot, but when he does have it, not much happens. Palmer either makes the wrong decision, passing when he should have shot, or shooting when a better pass was on. Or he holds onto the ball for too long. So even if he does end up making the right decision, the chance as gone.
That’s not just a Palmer problem. Chelsea gave up quite a few chances against Newcastle because they took too long on the ball in key moves. The Blues had 22 shots in total against Newcastle, amassing 1.39 Expected Goals. But they also only had two big chances, and hit the target just three times. That’s despite 10 shots and 33 touches inside the opposition box.
But a player like Palmer needs to take these kind of games by the scruff of the next. It’s what separates the best from the rest.
He did have the most xG of any Chelsea player in 0.34, but he only hit the target one from his three shots.
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Eddie Howe gets it spot on
Newcastle did not have their first shot of the game until the 18th minute. At that point, Chelsea had had six efforts. But, crucially, Newcastle scored with their first shot.
It was a simple goal, but things still needed to be perfect. Tino Livramento’s pass through the Chelsea backline was excellent, and Joe Willock had timed his run to perfection. Anthony Gordon raced past Wesley Fofana to offer a passing option, which Willock took, for the former Everton man to tap into an empty net.
Newcastle had bided their time to wait for the right moment, and they made it count. That’s not to say Newcastle played negatively. Eddie Howe set his Newcastle side in a low block, happy to soak up the pressure. It’s the best way to play against a Chelsea side still struggling for confidence without experienced heads. Although Chelsea had six shots before Newcastle’s first, Aaron Ramsdale wasn’t really tested.
Particularly after going ahead, Newcastle constantly looked to pick Chelsea off. But they were also happy to take control of the ball and push Chelsea’s defence back. Nick Woltemade was a strong presence in the Newcastle midfield, especially with no Joelinton, Sandro Tonali or Bruno Guimaraes in the starting XI.
Newcastle were excellent to a man, but Gordon shone in leading the line. Outside of scoring his goal, Gordon pressed the Chelsea defence and goalkeeper relentlessly, not allowing them to get any rhythm going. He did still manage to hit the target with all three of his efforts, testing Robert Sanchez. Gordon made three tackles, won four fouls and won possession four times — all while only losing it once. He also won eight of his 10 duels, only failing in two aerial battles.
Disorganised defending
Despite all their problems up front, the real killer for Chelsea was a moment of poor defending. That was the difference between one point and none. And it’s something that has plagued Chelsea for a long time.
Although Livramento’s ball through the middle was excellent, as was Willock’s run, Chelsea certainly allowed the latter to stay onside. The Blues’ back line was excellent two lines of two, with one deeper than the other. That was on the other side of the pitch, playing Willock on. Both Wesley Fofana and Malo Gusto had stayed deep, with Reece James, Trevoh Chalobah and Moises Caicedo part of the higher line.
Once the ball was played through, only James made a concerted effort to win it back. Fofana jogged as he allowed Gordon to run past him, even as the Englishman took an awkward first touch in the box.
Chelsea fans have been unhappy with their defenders across the season. When the teamsheet was released just before kick-off, some were bewildered by Josh Acheampong’s absence even from the bench. Then there’s the continued James midfield experiment. While the Chelsea captain is an excellent passer of the ball, and can pull the strings, he’s a much better presence in the team when starting at right-back. Especially when it allows Andrey Santos to join Caicedo in midfield, with Gusto dropping out.
Chelsea allowed Newcastle the better chances too. Although the Magpies only had seven shots, they posted 1.42 xG — just 0.01 than Chelsea managed in 15 more efforts. Newcastle also hit the target five times. Sanchez was certainly busier than Ramsdale.
It was a damning result for Chelsea. And they only have themselves to blame.