Mauricio Pochettino previews Newcastle clash
Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino has been told he needs to drop Nicolas Jackson following the Blues’ Premier League thumping at the hands of Newcastle on Saturday. The west Londoners were second best throughout the showdown at St James’ Park and were defeated 4-1 by the Magpies.
Alexander Isak opened the scoring for the home side in the north east after 13 minutes, before Raheem Sterling equalised courtesy of a sumptuous free-kick. Jamaal Lascelles and Joelinton then struck for the hosts 90 seconds apart after the break, with Chelsea defender Reece James being dismissed with 17 minutes remaining after picking up a second booking. And Anthony Gordon wrapped the victory up for the Magpies in the closing stages.
Jackson was named in the Chelsea starting line-up for the 10th time in the Premier League for the trip to the north east. But he was anonymous for large spells of the encounter and barely threatened before being hauled off midway through the second half.
Jackson has bagged six Premier League goals since joining Chelsea from Villarreal for £32million in the summer. But three of those strikes came against Tottenham at the start of the month when the Lilywhites had already been reduced to nine men. And the 22-year-old striker has been guilty of wasting a whole host of chances in other matches.
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Jackson has failed to score in eight of his 12 Premier League appearances this season. And former Blues star Craig Burley thinks Armando Broja would provide Pochettino with a better option in front of goal.
“Let’s be honest, Nico Jackson’s not the answer,” Burley told ESPN. “I don’t dislike Broja. I know he’s had his injury problems, but I think I’d rather have him up front than Jackson. I know he got his goals against Tottenham but, come on, let’s be realistic – they were down to nine men at the time.”
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Chelsea’s defeat on Tyneside means they are 10th in the Premier League table with just four wins to their name. And after the match, Pochettino raged: “These games make me very, very angry. We have to show personality and character. We cannot play this type of football.
“Newcastle were not great, but got an easy win. We had to show it was difficult for them. But it was so easy the way we conceded and were so soft in every single challenge. We didn’t show we were playing for something. We are young and have to learn. We need to be more solid. Mentally of course. Be ready to compete. I can play football – everyone can – but you have to be ready to compete and today we didn’t.”
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