Chelsea lost to Newcastle, the offensive end was silenced, and the competition was blocked, and the final two games must be won

In the 36th round of the Premier League, Newcastle United sat at home 2-0, taking the lead in the Champions League qualification competition, and ending Chelsea's five consecutive victories. In this game, Chelsea's forward player Jackson was sent off by a red card and it was a turning point, so it was inevitable that the Blues could not reverse it. However, one less player cannot be an excuse for not scoring. The team's offensive weakness and instability in the opening game led to the goal conceding too early, and they failed to quickly confront the goal in emergency goals since then. All of this laid the groundwork for the subsequent red cards, and the next two rounds of the league still need to strive for victory.

Just 2 minutes into the game, Newcastle quickly attacked. After Gordon broke through on the left and was intercepted by Kesedo, the Blues failed to successfully control the second landing point. Lavia made a mistake and conceded the ball. Newcastle immediately reorganized the attack and transferred the ball to the right. Murphy made a precise cross, and Guimares missed the ball in the penalty area, but Tonali followed up in time at the back point and calmly pushed the ball to help the team get a fantastic start.

After Newcastle's proactive and oppressive style of play at the beginning of the game worked, he pressed at high positions at halftime, forcing the opponent to make mistakes and then quickly launched an attack. At the same time, the players' running and cooperation in the offensive third zone also showed good tactical qualities, and were able to quickly seize the opponent's defensive loopholes to complete a fatal blow.

In the 36th minute, the situation in the game took a major turn. Chelsea forward Jackson made an elbow strike while competing for the high altitude ball with Botman. The referee initially showed a yellow card, but changed the red card after VAR intervened, and Jackson was sent off directly. This penalty was undoubtedly a heavy blow to Chelsea, and the team had to play more with less for the rest of the time.

Jackson's impulsive behavior not only puts himself in a suspension, but also completely disrupts the team's tactical deployment. Chelsea, which has one less player to fight, needs to invest more energy on the defensive end to fill the gap, and the offensive rhythm is forced to slow down.

coach Maresca was in a dilemma in the deployment of troops. How to stabilize the defense line and find opportunities for counterattack in an unfavorable situation has become a severe test before him. Chelsea is no longer the same as before. With one less player, the sharpness of the offensive end has not been shown, and there is no absolute key. In the second half, Chelsea did not choose to shrink and defend with one less player, but actively tried to find offensive opportunities through ball possession and pass. Midfielders such as Enzo and Palmer strive to control the rhythm of the game. Guardians and James and other defenders are pressed to participate in the offense from time to time, but the overall offensive efficiency is not high, and many threatening attacks have been resolved by Newcastle goalkeeper Pope. Among them, Enzo's turn and shot in the penalty area was extremely threatening, but was saved by Pope. This was also the closest moment for Chelsea to score in the second half.

Defensive end, Chelsea players tried their best to narrow the defensive space through active running and filling positions and prevent Newcastle from hitting a quick counterattack. Charoba's key tackle repeatedly destroyed Newcastle's offensive opportunities, showing tenacious fighting spirit and excellent defensive awareness. However, due to the disadvantage of numbers, the team inevitably showed signs of fatigue during the defense, giving Newcastle some opportunities to take advantage of.

In contrast, Newcastle, with the advantage of one more player, the team adopted a more stable defensive counterattack tactic. On the basis of solidifying the defense line, they used the speed of players such as Isaac and Gordon to create threats in counterattacks. Although the top scorer Isaac has declined recently, other players of the team, such as Murphy and Guimarães, have been active on the offensive end and have caused trouble for Chelsea's defense many times.

In the 90th minute, the suspense of the game was completely over. Tonali took a tactical set-up kick, Danburn made the ball, and Guimaraes took a step horizontally near the corner of the penalty area on the left, and suddenly shot out a powerful world wave. The ball was directly at the dead corner of the goal, and Newcastle secured the victory 2:0. Chelsea beat the attack with all their might, and the defense line appeared to be empty. Newcastle grabbed the gap behind the opponent after he pressed the attack and completed a fatal blow through simple and efficient cooperation.

From the standings, after this game, Newcastle United surpassed Manchester City with 66 points and temporarily ranked third, occupies a favorable position in the competition for Champions League qualification. Chelsea's five consecutive wins in each competition were concluded, currently with 63 points with Aston Villa, still ranks fifth. With only two rounds left in the league, Chelsea's prospects for Champions League qualification were cast a shadow, but it was not completely lost hope.

Chelsea coach Maresca believes that the red card has changed the trend of the game, and one less player makes the game extremely difficult. The team will focus on each of the next games and strive to get as many points as possible for the remaining schedule. In the next two games, Chelsea will face Manchester United and Nottingham Forest one after another. Only by scoring 6 points in all of these two games can it be possible to gain a favorable situation in the fiercely competitive Champions League qualification battle. Newcastle's next opponents are Brighton and Everton. Although their opponents' strength cannot be underestimated, they are relatively more advantageous in the schedule with a 3-point advantage.