Newcastle opened up a seven-point gap over an erratic Chelsea in the Premier League thanks to a dominant second-half performance at St James’ Park.
Newcastle took the lead after 17-year-old midfielder Lewis Miley assisted Alexander Isak on 13 minutes, but Chelsea equalised when Raheem Sterling’s dipping free kick flew past Nick Pope.
Jamaal Lascelles headed Newcastle back in front after 60 minutes, then Joelinton capitalised on an error from Thiago Silva moments later to make it 3-1, before Anthony Gordon added a fourth, with Reece James’ red card seeing Chelsea finish with 10 men.
Here, The Athletic’s Chris Waugh and Simon Johnson analyse the key moments.
Were Isak and Guimaraes the reason for Newcastle’s improvement?
They were not the only reasons behind Newcastle’s success — their home form has been exemplary, with six wins from seven at St James’ in the Premier League now — but the return of such gifted performers undoubtedly boosted Howe’s side.
Bruno Guimaraes has missed seven top-flight matches since his Newcastle debut in February 2022 and they have failed to win any of them, including the 2-0 defeat at Bournemouth. He brings reassurance, quality and vision to Newcastle’s midfield.
Up front, meanwhile, Isak had missed a month of football but picked up where he left off before his groin injury, scoring after just 13 minutes. He sorted his feet out well to let Miley’s pass drift through before slotting home his fifth goal in five Premier League games.
As testing as Tuesday’s trip to Paris Saint-Germain appears given how stretched Newcastle are, this performance and their 4-1 home thrashing of the French champions should give them plenty of optimism.
Chris Waugh
What has happened to Chelsea’s defence?
Mauricio Pochettino has started to solve Chelsea’s goalscoring problems, but he now has to solve their goal-conceding issues.
They have gone six consecutive Premier League games without a clean sheet (14 scored), but it is the manner of the goals they are conceding that should be of huge concern.
Chelsea just do not seem capable of concentrating for 90 minutes. All four of Newcastle’s goals came from them switching off.
Isak had the freedom of the penalty area for the first, played onside by a lethargic Marc Cucurella. Lascelles headed in the second, benefitting from the same freedom in the area Manchester City defender Manuel Akanji had a fortnight ago during the 4-4 thriller just before half-time.
The worst came next when Cole Palmer’s pass to Thiago Silva was intercepted by Joelinton and he had a simple task to beat Robert Sanchez. Once James was sent off, Gordon had an even easier task to make it four.
There just did not seem to be a cohesive unit on the pitch as far as Chelsea were concerned and as the momentum swung against them, they folded.
Simon Johnson
Did this show Lewis Miley is Premier League-ready?
Nothing underscores Newcastle’s present selection crisis quite like a bench containing three goalkeepers and four players called up as emergency cover from the under-21 squad, in Ben Parkinson, Amadou Diallo, Michael Ndiweni, and Alex Murphy, with the final three making their Premier League debuts off the bench.
Deprived of 13 senior players, Eddie Howe has had to make risky selection calls and expedite Lewis Miley’s elevation into the team, but the 17-year-old has certainly delivered.
One of the few positives during the dire defeat at Bournemouth on his full Premier League debut as a No 6, the academy graduate started in the top flight at St James’ Park for the first time, on this occasion as a right-sided No 8, in place of the injured Sean Longstaff.
Assured in possession, completing 21 of his 24 attempted passes during the first half, the pick of those was a sublime assist for Isak’s opener. Anthony Gordon centred a pass from the left, Joelinton touched it back to Miley, who waited for the Chelsea backline to advance, then disguised a gorgeous through-ball to Isak, who finished on the turn.
Newcastle are rightly excited about Miley’s potential and, while other players have been promoted out of necessity, the midfielder is showing he is there on merit. Newcastle fans certainly believe so, giving him a standing ovation as he departed.
Chris Waugh
Should Raheem Sterling be in the England squad?
It has been one of the great mysteries of the season that England head coach Gareth Southgate has continually ignored the 28-year-old.
Sterling has been in fine form for Chelsea since the campaign began and continued it here with a sublime free kick to draw Chelsea level in the first half.
He may have looked a bit uncertain moments earlier when he was played through on goal, dallied in possession too long and went down under minimal contact from Kieran Trippier, but the dipping free kick that followed left England international goalkeeper Pope watching helplessly as the ball hit the back of the net.
It was his sixth Premier League goal of the season, drawing him level with striker Nicolas Jackson at the top of Chelsea’s goalscoring charts in the top division.
How England could have done with such inspiration during the drab games over the international break against Malta and North Macedonia.
The home fans might not agree. They made Sterling public enemy No 1 for the manner in which he won the free kick he scored from. They taunted him throughout, including making a rather unkind rhyme to a song which started with “Southgate’s right…”.
Unfortunately for Sterling, his contribution could not compensate for Chelsea’s defensive woes in the second half.
Simon Johnson
What did Howe and Pochettino say?
Mauricio Pochettino suggested that he was going to cancel a day off for his players and make them train instead
“Even after we scored, at 1-1, it was a chance for us to force them to play deep, but it was so easy for Newcastle. That is why I am so upset with the performance,” he said.
“Sometimes your team needs this type of situation to happen to realise (the standards that are required).
“We were talking after in the dressing room, after the game, because in a normal way I think we should go directly to the hotel and sleep and start to train tomorrow early in the morning and no day off.”
Eddie Howe on Joe Willock’s injury: “It’s a recurrence of his achilles’ injury,” Howe said. “It’s a massive blow. We don’t know how long he’ll be out for. We will seek specialist advice.”
What next for Newcastle?
Tuesday, November 28: Paris Saint-Germain (A), Champions League, 8pm GMT, 3pm ET
Realistically, Newcastle need to beat PSG to keep their faint hopes of reaching the Champions League knockout stages alive.
Saturday, December 2: Manchester United (H), Premier League, 8pm GMT, 5pm ET
What next for Chelsea?
Sunday, December 3: Brighton (H), Premier League, 2pm GMT, 12pm ET
Wednesday, December 6: Manchester United (A), Premier League, 8.15pm GMT, 5.15pm ET
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(Top image: Michelle Mercer/Newcastle United via Getty Images)
Christine Lake is a sports fanatic who lives and breathes athletics. With an extensive background in sports journalism, he covers everything from major league championships to grassroots sports events. When she’s not on the field or at the stadium, you’ll find Christine coaching youth sports teams.
