'This type of game makes me very, very, very, very, very angry' – Mauricio Pochettino (very) unhappy in the wake of a 4-1 defeat at Newcastle that he also labelled 'easy'
The Chelsea boss blasted his side's personality, character and energy in the wake of their "worst defeat of the season"
(Image credit: Future)
It's been one step forward, two steps back for Chelsea in November. Or should that be four?
Chelsea conceded four goals for the second game in a row, but unlike against Manchester City they could only muster one in reply.
Speaking of numbers, Newcastle named three goalkeepers on their bench, such is their injury crisis at the moment. Joe Willock has become the latest victim with an Achilles injury set to keep him out for a yet-to-be-determined period.
A huge blow to Newcastle, not that they showed it.
Instead it was Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino who cut the most "frustrated" figure at full-time at St. James' Park.
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A second-half collapse included a Jamaal Lascelles free-header, a catastrophic mistake from his most experienced player Thiago Silva and a late sending-off for captain Reece James who was involved in an 'exchange' with Newcastle Assistant Manager Jason Tindall at the end of the first half.
Pochettino, who had to watch from the stands having collected three yellow cards this season, had some harsh words for his players.
"We [did] not prepare ourselves in the best way to compete today, that is my concern. We didn't compete in the way that the the competition is demanded.
"I think, even if Newcastle wasn't great, I think it was an easy win [for them].
"I think this type of game makes me very, very, very, very, very angry because it's about showing more personality and character.
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"Three keepers on the bench or no, it's about in the way that we compete. So soft for us. We didn't show that we were competing for something very important. We were so soft in every single challenge.
"We need to show different energy, different capacity to compete for me, that is the key. The big teams perform every week, or every three days in this way. And that is is a thing that we need to do".
"I think it was our worst game of the season".
(Image credit: Getty Images)
To add insult to injury, Eddie Howe used the closing stages to rest weary players ahead of their trip to Paris in the Champions League.
He handed Premier League debuts to young trio Alex Murphy, Amadou Diallo and Michael Ndiweni, all products of Newcastle's Academy. As was 17-year-old Lewis Miley who started the game and set up the first goal brilliantly for returning striker Alexander Isak.
Meanwhile, hundreds of million pounds of talent watched on from Chelsea's bench.
A former goalkeeper, Ketch joined FourFourTwo as Deputy Editor in 2022 having worked across ChronicleLive, LeedsLive, Hull Daily Mail, YorkshireLive, Teesside Gazette and the Huddersfield Examiner as a Northern Football Editor. Prior to that he was the Senior Writer at BBC Match of the Day magazine. He has interviewed the likes of Harry Kane, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Gareth Southgate and attended two World Cup finals and a Champions League final. He has been a Newcastle United season ticket holder since 2000 and has an expensive passion for collecting classic football shirts.
