Chelsea and Newcastle United played to a hard-fought 1-1 draw in a match filled with controversy and missed opportunities at St James’ Park on Saturday. VAR discussions took center stage during the match. Watch fans lose their minds over a missed Newcastle penalty. Enzo Maresca, Chelsea’s manager, was already taking heat for his recent comments on the experience of working at the club. In reality, both squads flashed their offensive firepower in spades on Sunday.
Maresca called his final week at the club “good.” This happened this week, during a climate of rumor and speculation that he himself may be headed to Manchester City as the club’s next manager. Harvey Barnes came this close to doing Chelsea a solid with an equalizer against Brighton in Saturday’s early match. Conversely, Anthony Gordon squandered a gilded chance for Newcastle. The decisions made by the officiating crew were pivotal, notably Trevoh Chalobah’s challenge on Gordon, which Eddie Howe deemed a clear penalty.
Match Summary
Newcastle rotated a fair bit, making four changes after their midweek Carabao Cup win against Fulham. RELOADED Lewis Hall, Sandro Tonali, Anthony Gordon and Nick Woltemade return to the fold. And just two minutes later, the hosts made quick work of placing Chelsea under pressure. That was Woltemade’s second goal against them this season, providing Newcastle a quick and vital lead.
Chelsea leveled it up with a sensational free-kick from Reece James that highlighted the character in this Chelsea side. The result put both teams in an awkward position. Maresca would’ve been justified in saying Chelsea’s excellent first-half display warranted all three points, and vice versa for Howe when pointing to Newcastle’s complete control after the first 45.
“I think after the first half, they deserved to win the game for sure. From my point of view, after the second half, we deserved to win the game. So this is my point of view.” – Enzo Maresca
Controversial VAR Decisions
The controversial turning point of the match was Chalobah’s challenge on Gordon. Instead, Howe took to the referee at that time and made vehement complaints about the official’s choice. In his defence, he claimed it was “100 per cent a penalty.” His point was that in any other part of the pitch, such an infraction would have been called.
“Yeah, I thought the Anthony Gordon one was the standout one for me. I think anywhere else on the pitch, that’s a blatant free-kick.” – Eddie Howe
Howe was most abject when the penalty went to VAR for a review. He felt it was an obvious mistake taking into account the context of Chalobah’s challenge.
“When it went to VAR and of course they check everything, I thought this was going to be overturned. It’s a clear error because that’s a clear penalty, as I’ve seen. I think the defender only focuses on Ant.” – Eddie Howe
Maresca’s remarks spilled into shining a light on the officiating, as he did not hold back on the way he viewed the incident. His attention was still on his team’s determination and fight as a whole during the game.
Player Highlights and Tactical Changes
Moises Caicedo of Chelsea the only player to retain his starting role. He has clung on to this mantle since their most recent Carabao Cup match against Cardiff City. After some promising debut performances by the team such as Robert Sanchez, who assisted João Pedro’s goal, it felt like enough promise was there to build on. This was the fourth time a Chelsea goalkeeper has assisted a goal in the Premier League. It demonstrates the fluidity of their attack!
While both sides had their share of obvious goal-scoring opportunities, neither team was able to take advantage. Harvey Barnes’ chance was Chelsea’s clearest one early in the game, but Newcastle’s Anthony Gordon was a constant menace to Chelsea’s back line.
Both sides left the field with a point earned and earned back. Like any clear horror show, fans couldn’t help but wonder what might have been if the poor penalty decisions had been reversed. After a dramatic match played in high tension, both managers spoke candidly about their teams’ performances.
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