It was another very useful run out for Newcastle in the early hours of Thursday morning, where we took on Chelsea in our second game of the Premier League Summer Series.
Here, we’ll run through some of the positives and negatives from the 1-1 draw, which kicked off with an early opener from Nicolas Jackson before Miguel Almiron scores on his return to Atlanta.
Starting with the injury scare, Fabian Schar was forced off before the break with a hamstring problem. It was evident in the Aston Villa game that we lacked pace at the back and the same was true here, as Jackson got in behind too easily, causing havoc with his energy and movement. Hopefully Schar’s withdrawal was simply precautionary – Howe is hopeful it’s just ‘tightness’, not a pull – but it was a concern to see him hobble off and reminder of our need for an athletic, right-sided centre-back.
Now for the positives, Lewis Miley shone in front of 70,000 at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The 17-year-old has often looked the part over pre-season and was at it again here, showing composure on the ball, an impressive range of passing and impressive athleticism throughout. He’s only slight, but he moves well for a midfielder pushing 6ft 3′ and carries the ball forward both positively and at pace.
Anthony Gordon also showed more flashes of promise in what’s proving to be a hugely positive summer for him. He ran at his man, looked much fitter and played a key role in Miggy’s goal, with his driving run and perfect through ball setting up the Paraguayan just before the break. He also moved into a central role in the second half, showing his versatility and ability to play up top after impressing in that position at the U21 Euros.
Irish youngster Alex Murphy also deserves a shoutout, as he filled in very well at left-back after Burn was forced to move into the middle. This isn’t the first time the 19-year-old has come in and been quietly impressive over pre-season, showing up well in 1 v 1 situations and displaying composure on the ball.
Nick Pope’s return was also great to see. He’s not featured since our 0-0 draw with Leicester two months ago, but he came back from hand surgery with an impressive second half display. The big man made a couple of top saves, one being the ‘save of the Summer Series’ to deny Ben Chilwell’s powerful effort in extra time. Watch it below:
Our pressing was also evident from the off. We got in their faces and didn’t allow them to play out from the back. When our high press was bypassed, our lack of pace at the back was exposed (see Jackson’s goal), but it was good to see us looking in good shape physically and imposing our style of play on Chelsea.
Let’s hope Schar’s withdrawal was nothing serious, but focuses minds in our search for additional defenders, with a right-sided centre-back and left-back still needed.
