At a glance
- Newcastle’s unfamiliar but impressive midfield
- Livramento pockets Garnacho on return
- Anthony Gordon the perfect outlet
It was a classic away performance by Newcastle United yesterday. Liam Rosenior’s Chelsea were seen off in a rather comfortable 1-0 win despite Howe’s men being under pressure for large majorities of the game.
The game showed a side to the Magpies that hasn’t been seen in some time now, especially away from home. A steely, hard-to-break-down and opposition-frustrating system that ultimately nullified almost every threat Chelsea tried to pose.
It was an absolute masterclass of how to shut up shop on the road. Providing some much-needed confidence ahead of a massive game against Barcelona midweek.
So, with that being said, let’s take a look at what worked and what didn’t.
The midfield battle
Eddie Howe set his side up in the usual 4-3-3 that we have become so accustomed to over the years. But, despite the familiarity of the system, it was actually the first time since Howe joined the club that the entire trio of Bruno Guimaraes, Sandro Tonali and Joelinton had been absent from a Newcastle XI.
Instead, Jacob Ramsey and Joe Willock were joined by the out-of-position Nick Woltemade. The big German was tasked with sitting on Chelsea’s deepest midfielder for most of his time on the pitch, with Ramsey and Willock fluid in their pressure depending on the situation.
The athleticism of the two Englishmen meant that Woltemade didn’t get exposed on the defensive side of the game. He was able to maintain discipline without overexerting himself running-wise, and his lack of mobility actually helped deter Chelsea’s play through the lines.
Jacob Ramsey, who has started to shine as of late, was tasked with dropping into the Tonali-type role. He did this exceptionally well throughout, conducting Newcastle’s possession from deep and sweeping up in transition.
The former Aston Villa man’s discipline in playing this position also allowed Willock to utilise his energy in more advanced areas. A quirk of the system which ultimately led to Newcastle’s goal.
Livramento’s return
That leads us to another major positive: Tino Livramento‘s battle against Alejandro Garnacho.
It was the fullback’s first game back from injury, but he was largely trusted 1vs1 against the Argentinian. Jacob Murphy often cut off the inside lane, forcing Garnacho to stand Livramento up, which he struggled with throughout.
Not only that, but Howe had clearly spotted a weakness with the winger in possession. Garnacho’s defensive work has never been his strongest attribute.
When Newcastle got the ball, Livramento often stepped up the byline or inverted into midfield. Because Chelsea played only one striker, the defence was able to shuffle across to fill Tino’s space.
Malick Thiaw would come over to prevent Garnacho, who often cheated and stayed high, from having any space in behind. Botman would occupy Joao Pedro and shuffle to the right of him, with Lewis Hall able to drift centrally to cover, given the positioning of Palmer.
Selfless Gordon
The reason that Gordon is currently being preferred as the starting striker was on full display.
Out of possession, Newcastle dropped into a 4-5-1, with Gordon the lone forward. His tireless running and ability to cut off the pitch were crucial in shepherding Chelsea wide and cutting off the central passing lanes.
In possession, he was a constant threat. He never stopped looking to stretch the pairing of Trevoh Chalobah and Wesley Fofana, who struggled to get a grasp of his dynamic movements.
Not only was he running in behind, but he was also making lateral movements to drag players out of position. He also spent some of his time dropping deeper. Allowing Woltemade to stay higher and provide a different threat on the rare occasion Newcastle had the ball.
And it was a mix of all three of the mentioned things that led to the goal.
Newcastle United’s goal
Livramento picked up the ball deep in the defensive half after losing Garnacho, who was reluctant to track back. Woltemade’s rather static nature forced a midfielder, in this case Moises Caicedo, to stay higher.
Gordon made a lateral movement toward the left-hand side. Pulling away the centre-backs who struggled to set themselves in the process.
All of these moving parts allowed Willock to make a trademark run beyond the backline and past a rather unaware Reece James. Livramento threaded a lovely through ball into Willock’s path before the midfielder laid it across to Gordon.
The striker had followed the lateral movement with a quick burst beyond Chelsea’s backline. He received the ball in acres of space for an easy tap-in. It was a perfect example of everything Howe had tried to implement to get through the Blues’ press.
Palmer problems
Newcastle set up to allow Chelsea to have possession, so that wasn’t a big problem.
The only real issue, present only in the early stages, was Cole Palmer. The Englishman was playing off the left but tended to drift centrally when Chelsea had the ball.
This caused some issues for Howe’s men in the early stages, with a man-for-man midfield, as Enzo Fernandez dropped deep, leaving Palmer with space to operate.
The problem didn’t last long, though, with Newcastle dropping slightly deeper in Liam Rosenior’s side’s build-up and playing a bit narrower to force Rosenior’s men wide, largely nullifying Palmer’s threat.
