NEWCASTLE 0-2 CHELSEA

Shearer said right at the start they needed to take something from the game, unfortunately for him though, his players didn’t realise that ‘something’ he was referring to was points. For the first half, Newcastle looked as if they’d be more than happy with a draw although by the second half, their defence seemed to have abandoned even that idea altogether.

There weren’t many clear cut chances in the first half although we pressed Newcastle and limited them to trying to catch us out on the break and whilst it was definitely a below par performance from us, we were still the better side despite being guilty of overplaying it on occasion, which shows just how much work Shearer has to do if he’s to save his beloved club from the drop.

And talking points from the first half? Well, Mikel seemed to spend far too much of it tempting Styles to book him, which he eventually did, courtesy of a foul on Guttierez.  Frank Lampard was another to receive a yellow card – for ‘diving’ – although replays clearly showed he’d been clipped by Nicky Butt. How unusual for Rob Styles to cock it up! Newcastle’s Lovenkrands ended up being stretchered off to hospital following a collision with Malouda who seemed to catch him in the back and John Terry took the opportunity to point out Styles’ mistake during the break in proceedings.

John Terry was subsequently given the benefit of the doubt at the end of the first half whilst holding off Michael Owen, who clearly felt the level of defending was a little too enthusiastic from the Chelsea skipper. And the final observation from the first half? Well what else could it be but Florent Malouda’s hair?

So, second half then and it was pretty much as you were, with us pressing and the Newcastle defence appearing to stand firm. Until some comical defending from Newcastle’s Fabricio Coloccini gifted Anelka a chance, and when his effort came back off the bar, unfortunately for Coloccini, it didn’t get past Frank Lampard who duly punished the mistake. And it wasn’t long before Florent Malouda had made the most of Newcastle’s slack defence to double the score.

Talking points from the second half would have to be Frank Lampard, who grabbed the game by the balls, leading by example with one goal and one assist. And obviously Michael Owen’s goal, which had clearly gone over the line before Ashley Cole cleared.

Still, life’s a bitch Mr Shearer, welcome to management!

TEAMS

NEWCASTLE

Harper, Ryan Taylor, Beye, Coloccini, Jose Enrique, Gutierrez, Nolan (Guthrie, 69), Butt, Lovenkrands (Duff, 44), Owen, Martins (Carroll, 81).
Subs not used: Forster, Smith, Geremi, Edgar.

CHELSEA

Cech, Ivanovic, Alex, Terry, Ashley Cole, Essien (Ballack, 57), Mikel, Lampard, Malouda, Anelka (Di Santo, 68), Kalou.
Subs not used: Hilario, Carvalho, Deco, Belletti, Mancienne.

Filed under: Match report