The last time Newcastle won at Stamford Bridge, Lewis Miley was six years old as Papiss Cisse scored that stunning brace way back in 2012. We were just 90 seconds away from ending that run, but a 92nd-minute error from Kieran Trippier and 4-2 loss in the penalty shootout has dumped us out of the Carabao Cup at the quarter-final stage.
It was never pretty, we suffered more bumps and bruises, had just 22% of the ball and two shots on target, yet we limited Chelsea to few clear cut chances and battled through the fatigue to move just a few minutes away from a 1-0 win, until Mudryk’s stoppage time goal swung the tie in their favour right at the death.
With Middlesbrough, Fulham and Liverpool/West Ham (to be played tomorrow night) left in the competition, it feels like a huge chance missed to end our trophy drought and go one step further than last season, giving us more heartbreak just seven days after we were dumped out of Europe. Football really can be cruel sometimes.
Howe made three changes from Saturday’s 3-0 win over Fulham. Sven Botman came in for his first start in three months, Emil Krafth came in at right-back and Lewis Miley started in midfield, with the trio replacing Fabian Schar, Dan Burn and Joelinton.
Kieran Trippier was on the bench, alongside Chelsea loanee Lewis Hall, but Alexander Isak missed out once again, raising concerns over his ongoing groin issue that also kept him out last weekend.
STARTING 11: Dubravka – Krafth, Lascelles, Botman, Livramento – Miley, Guimaraes, Longstaff – Almrion, Wilson, Gordon. SUBS: Karius, Gillespie, Trippier, Dummett, Hall, A Murphy, Burn, Ritchie.
Less than two minutes in, Moises Caicedo raked his studs down Anthony Gordon’s calf and could consider himself extremely lucky there was no VAR. It was a red card challenge, but he only saw yellow, with Levi Colwill also leaving his studs in on Krafth.
After a half chance for Gordon was blocked and Gallagher curled a 25-yard effort off the bar, we took the lead through Wilson. It was an early Christmas gift from Badiashile, but our number nine never gave up after a bursting run and poked past Petrovic expertly to score his 46th for Newcastle on his 100th appearance for the club.
Callum Wilson gives Newcastle the lead with a BRILLIANT run! 🔥💪 pic.twitter.com/Hfwa60yOWS
— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) December 19, 2023
Chelsea had plenty of the ball after that, but a lot of their possession was sideways passes that rarely threatened. We were sitting a little deep at times, although our strong defensive shape, a huge block from Bruno and some smart defending from Lascelles to deny Sterling sent us into the break 1-0 up.
At the other end, Bruno had an effort of his own well blocked after a decent move down the right. A successful first 45 minutes, although it’s fair to say Miggy Almiron was having a bit of a stinker, despite all of his efforts, with Gordon also on the fringes of the game down our left.
We made two changes at the break, as a battered and bruised Krafth made way for Kieran Trippier, with the other seeing Burn replace Botman. We had to hope the latter was a pre-planned change, as we couldn’t afford to suffer another injury setback.
One player who definitely couldn’t continue was Gordon, who looked uncomfortable from the restart and was unable to sprint when presented with a chance on the counter, meaning Matt Ritchie came on with 40 minutes left to play. It was a disruptive start to the second half and we weren’t helping ourselves either, with us struggling to string more than a few passes together before Jackson fired just wide and Sterling forced Dubravka into a smart save after firing a low shot towards the far corner.
It was wave after wave of Chelsea attack and we were sorely lacking an out-ball at the other end. Wilson looked exhausted and couldn’t make it stick, Almiron spent most of his energy tracking Gusto (who replaced Colwill at the break) and Ritchie was offering little attacking outlet. Fading late in games had cost us in previous away games this season and we had to ride this one out if we wanted to reach the semi-finals.
Just as we were crying out for an Isak, Barnes, Murphy or Joelinton, Pochettino was able to make the attacking change Howe craved, seeing £52m Frenchman Christopher Nkunku come on for his first competitive appearance for the club.
Physically, we were running on empty. Chelsea weren’t banging the door down and actually did very little with the vast majority of the 76% possession we handed them, we just had to keep a hold of the ball better and had 15 minutes to hold on as the Blues brought on £89m winger Mykhailo Mudryk.
Livramento’s header across goal left hearts in mouths and Gallagher flung himself in search of a penalty, but we survived both scares…until the 92nd minute. Trippier got it all wrong from a bouncing cross, allowing Mudryk to step in and slot past Dubravka. Absolute heartbreak at the death, seeing the game head to penalties when we were just 180 seconds away from victory.
CHELSEA LEVEL LATE THROUGH MUDRYK! 💥 pic.twitter.com/uH8PTsYCw7
— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) December 19, 2023
Lascelles won the toss and the spot kicks were taken at a packed out away end…
- Palmer…SCORES – Wilson…SCORES – 1-1
- Gallagher…SCORES – Trippier…MISSES – 2-1
- Nkunku…SCORES – Bruno…SCORES – 3-2
- Mudryk…SCORES – Ritchie…MISSES – 4-2
Utter heartbreak and another bitter, bitter pill to swallow on a brutal night for Newcastle United. He cost us twice late on, but we need to get behind Kieran Trippier. He joined the club when it needed him; now it’s time for the club and the supporters to get behind him after a really tough few weeks.
Next up, Luton away thi s Saturday, followed by Nottingham Forest at home on Boxing Day.
Disappointing to yet again not be able to develop on or hold a lead away from home.
There is rationale for ceding possession ( however tough it is to watch) as Howe tries to manage games through December. I just don’t think nufc have available players for it.
Whatever the reason ( bad luck / errors / fatigue / quality) nufc have to figure out how to win away from home if they want to match their ambition.
I’ve previously said I didn’t think a DCM is a priority .. I’m coming round to a change in that as this team ( MF especially ) are just not shaped to see out close games with consistency.
And what is it with caicedo .. he has a problem with nufc and is not letting it go .. he was at it in the summer series and again in both games this season.
I hope krafth, Gordon and trippier are ok and hopefully get a rest soon ( esp trippier)
GoWest!Mag(Quote)
Caicedo should definitely have seen Red. Very Poor decision. We held on for a long time but the key difference is Chelsea were able to bring on over £150 million of attacking players to see out the game, we had Ritchie.
If Krafth hadn’t been injured I think Tripps would’ve stayed on the bench. Chelsea were fouling and diving all over the place. Yes, Tripps made a mistake, but I think Dubravka should and could’ve saved that with better anticipation and movement. No blame though.
We win as a team, we lose as a team. Makes the Mackem match a whole level more important now though. Only chance to win anything.
Gilly Toon(Quote)
I thought the refereeing was really poor last night!!.
Totally agree Caicedo was a straight red. I don’t care what minute of the game it was – that was a disgraceful challenge & he fully intended to hurt Gordon!!. The guilt was evident when he put the ball out when Gordon went down – too little too late – dirty cheat.
The ref booked Sterling for diving & trying to win a freekick – where was Gallaghers yellow card for diving trying to win a penalty then?!
Let’s have it right, if Gallagher tricked the ref it would have cost us far more than Sterling’s freekick – no consistency!!.
Gallagher then got booked for a dirty challenge & would have been sent off – they should have finished the game with 9 men.
Chelsea have spent literally A BILLION on players & needed a mistake by Trips to blag a draw & take it to penalties. They celebrated scrapping through a QF Carabao Cup tie like they won the CL final FFS 🙄.
Sharpy17(Quote)
Trippier will not want anyone feeling sorry for him & the mistake doesn’t need analysing.
He has been one of our best signings not just under the new owners but of the 35 years I’ve supported NUFC.
The lad has enough in the bank for me. He will come back stronger – no doubting that one bit.
Sharpy17(Quote)
Gilly, seeing trippier come on really does beg the question, where does Howe see hall in his squad as his introduction seemed a good option. I believe Howe has it right in his approach to gradually introduce players to the team but this feels like something is not gelling for hall.. which is a real shame .
Sharpy, please don’t misunderstand me when I hope trippier has a rest. This would be for his own well-being not because I don’t appreciate what an outstanding and transformative leader and player he is at the club. I really hope he sees out his career at the toon and stats to enjoy the success I’m confident is coming as a player and coach afterwards
On a related note to both points I’d expect both to be questions for Howe to field in his pre match presser on Friday
GoWest!Mag(Quote)
GoWest – not at all mate. I completely agree. He’s by no means over the hill but we can see the effect this schedule of games has had on younger players – the fact he’s only started making mistakes in the last few games shows how fit he is. But it’s taking its toll.
I also think the support he has to give Miggy due to the lack of right foot doesn’t help either – that for me is the priority that needs addressing.
Bringing Tino in was done with a view of giving Trips that rest as and when he needed it – you could that from the early rounds of the CC.
The Hall recruiting needs explaining really – are we stuck with him now as well??.
Further to that one – Tonali. Forget about the ban for a second – with Anderson & Miley already at the club, was that £55m really a good spend or could it have been used to strengthen other areas of the squad.
I’m not saying I could have predicted how well Anderson or Miley would have been – far from it – I’m suggesting someone within the club should have though.
Sharpy17(Quote)
Another thing, Colwill could easily have seen red too for his stamp on Krafth that led to him going off and Tripps coming on. Fully agree on Gallagher too.
I also find the Hall situation odd. It was the perfect time to use him when Krafth went off. We had permission from Chelsea to play him. I think Tripps would’ve really benefited from and extra bit of rest .
Gilly Toon(Quote)
Didn’t realise we had permission from Chelsea to play hall in the cup game, interesting.
kimtoon(Quote)
aye .. unlike the PL, the carabao cup allows players on loan to play against parent club if they give permission.
Rumour is chelsea allowed it coz they want nufc to trigger an appearance related clause for obligatory purchase and that nufc don’t want that.
Conclusion that nufc don’t want to commit the money . So the question ( in my mind anyways) is do nufc need the money for Jan window or have they already done some maths and busted past ffp
It’s all a bit smoke and mirrors and mostly I feel sorry for hall who’s a young lad and probably just wants to play footy. I guess worst case for hm is Chelsea sell him to another club and his footy career is paused for six months
GoWest!Mag(Quote)
So no surprises that Howe was questioned about trippier and Hall today
howe is sticking to the ‘hall not ready yet but the club like him’ line. He’s answered the question and whether fans believe him is our choice but he has remained consistent on messaging and his approach to bedding in new players. Time to move on from this
He thinks trippier will be ready so it seems likely he’ll play some part on Saturday.
It’s good that Howe has defensive options with players he seems comfortable with as burn and botman have game time recently even tho krafth sounds unlikely to play
HTL
GoWest!Mag(Quote)
I think Botman will start. I’m guessing our back four will be trippier, Botman, burn and Livramento.
Gilly Toon(Quote)
I think we need to have a bit of faith in Howe on the Lewis Hall front.
He held Bruno back & that paid off, but the most similar comparison is Gordon – who he obviously held back a lot longer, and that one turned out alright in the end.
I remember everyone questioning when he was playing Murphy ahead of Gordon then as well (including me). We all saw Gordon’s frustration when he was subbed off & lashed out. But Howe was right 🤷🏼♂️.
BUT – on the flip side, if since Hall has came in, Howe has his doubts then he is right to be cautious in triggering a deal that commits us to spending around £30m on the wrong player.
No disrespect to the lad but if it wasn’t for all of the injuries, I’m not sure Hall would even be a conversation.
Sharpy17(Quote)
My biggest concern at the moment is all this chat about Ashworth leaving for Man Utd.
He’s been a huge part of our upturn & we’ve barely got started. I think we need at least another 5 years out of him to lay the foundations.
Radcliffe wouldn’t be going in to save Man Utd. That club is in a real mess & Radcliffe will just add to it imo – it will be extra conflict with the Glazers who will still be majority holders.
Ashworth has a clear road ahead with NUFC. He can make changes & contribute to our club becoming a major force – raising his own profile as he goes.
But if he goes to MUFC he is going to find life far more difficult imo because the people at that club are already pulling in different directions – add Radcliffe and there’s a different direction again.
Ashworth & Howe seem to have a good working relationship too, so I hope he stays with us.
Sharpy17(Quote)
Sharpy, yup the ashworth to manu links could be a bit troublesome and i think there’s more to come before jan.
I know it’s behind a paywall but there’s two really good articles on the athletic recently linking manutd and nufc. The first was a direct comparison of what nufc have done well that
Manutd haven’t.Lets think who’s behind much of nufc’s thinking😉
The second is about radcliffes team and key to that is Brailsford, who reformed British cycling and the current ineos pro team through ‘small margins to success’..
They’ve made no secret they want ashworth and manutd actually moved for him at the same time as nufc did. He bounced them coz he wouldn’t get Control of the development set up at that time
Here’s the real kicker; Eddie Howe is very much of the small margins sports science mindset so will fit very well in that set up. Nufc fans critical of Howe need to be careful of what they wish for
GoWest!Mag(Quote)
I think a lot of the stories about Ashworth are media stirring things up and creating sh.ithousery. He knows he’s onto a good thing at our club. I very much doubt he’s going anywhere.
On another point, how good is it that the site is now working well and finally appears to be fixed! (Thanks Olly!)
Gilly Toon(Quote)
How many trophies are City going to win before the FA does something about the 115 breaches of FFP?
I can see the meeting now between FA and city owner
FA: you’ve broken lots of rules over the years, what do you have to say?
Sheikh: Here’s a huge suitcase full of cash, there’s more in your Swiss bank account.
FA: I think all is ok here, nothing to see! Enjoy the trophies!
😂😂
Gilly Toon(Quote)
What’s happened to the threads? This is the last one I see. Liverpool ones are gone
Gilly Toon(Quote)
Is it sorted now? Site got reset for a spell yesterday I’m told.
Olly Hawkins(Quote)