Newcastle 1-1 Chelsea: 3 Blues talking points

Chelsea’s unbeaten record under Mauricio Pochettino continued as they secured a 1-1 draw against Newcastle in Atlanta. Nicolas Jackson opened the scoring early on, but Miguel Almiron’s strike just before half time equalized for Newcastle.

The match started cautiously, with both teams aiming to gain sharpness during their pre-season encounter. CFC’s first meaningful chance resulted in Jackson’s goal, thanks to a well-executed pass from Ian Maatsen. Newcastle’s response came through Almiron, a returning hero who once played for Atlanta United.

During the second half, both teams made several substitutions, which led to a decrease in the game’s pace. Christopher Nkunku and Conor Gallagher had attempts on goal, while Chelsea pushed hard for a late winning goal. However, Nick Pope’s impressive save denied Ben Chilwell’s shot during added time. As a result, the match ended in a draw, with both teams sharing the spoils in the Premier League Summer Series pre-season clash.

Consequently, Newcastle finds themselves second-bottom in their friendly group with two points, while The Blues move up to second place with four points after two games, having secured a victory against the Seagulls in their friendly tournament opener.

As both teams made numerous changes throughout the match, with Chelsea making more than Newcastle, it provided Mauricio Pochettino and Eddie Howe an opportunity to assess the state of their squads ahead of the start of the 2023-24 campaign, despite key injuries.