This team doesn’t look like Chelsea right now: lessons learned v Newcastle

The past few weeks under Graham Potter have been filled with matches Chelsea would rather forget. From an elimination from a cup competition, it finished as the runners-up last season to an underwhelming performance against Arsenal, and now Newcastle United, CFC has plenty of time to ponder a plan for reassuring itself in the top-flight post-World Cup. The Blues have not won a Premier League match since October 16, against Aston Villa, and despite some encouraging signs at times, the Blues have only found the back of the net in open play in the league once over the last five contests.

Chelsea’s attack looks more than lacklustre at the moment, and while injuries are part of the reason, this is a squad that should be producing more than just 17 goals over 14 games in the English top flight so far. In Potter’s first seven games in charge of Brighton & Hove Albion, he won just one match, and while a club like CFC demands results at a whole different level, there needs to be a time when trust trumps all.

Following the loss against the Magpies on the road, Potter gave a positive spin on the result with a long break on the horizon, stating:

"“We take the break to recharge and go again…There won’t be many of us. A lot of the guys go away, But those that remain will work and go again. We have had a tough period and there have been a lot of positives but also some negatives. Sometimes you have to accept the struggles you have. It is about regrouping and starting again. It is the second half of the season and there is a long way to go.”"

There were times when Arsenal could have sacked Mikel Arteta, but the club stayed by its manager, and the results this season are finally coming to fruition. This is not a process where Chelsea is going to seamlessly transition a new ownership group and new manager within a couple of months to equal consistent results in the number of competitions it competes in.

Even in Pep Guardiola’s first season in charge of Manchester City, he experienced a run of contests where the club was six matches without a win including elimination from the EFL Cup, just like the Blues this season. A world-class strike from Joe Willock was the separator at St. James’s Park, and while Newcastle created the far better chances throughout the match, Chelsea was able to limit a team who has scored four goals in its last two league games to just one.

Scraping in defense should not be the goal, threatening the goalkeeper, and keeping him on his feet constantly has to be the task the Blues have to figure out during this lengthy hiatus. Chelsea has the lowest expected goals of any team in the top half of the table, accumulating the lowest total on Saturday in the league with an astoundingly horrific 0.36 expected goals in the final match until Boxing Day against a determined Bournemouth side that has been a pain to play against over the last week. For CFC, this extended break is a positive, especially for Potter, who now has time to regroup significantly since taking over as the manager in west London. As the World Cup moves closer and closer, here are the lessons learned from the Blues’ forgettable match against a flying Newcastle side: