Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca was annoyed after Nicolas Jackson received a red card in their 2-0 loss to Newcastle United. The Blues’ Champions League hopes were dealt a devastating blow at St James’ Park, and Jackson’s first-half red card did not help matters.
The 23-year-old striker was sent off in the 35th minute for elbowing Sven Botman. Referee John Brooks originally handed out a yellow card for the incident. Following a VAR consideration, it was increased to a red. Now, the Blues are without an experienced striker for their remaining games against Manchester United and Nottingham Forest.
Manager Enzo Maresca was not happy, as he told the press afterwards:
“If the ref thinks red card, it’s a red card. We need to accept that. Sometimes in this stadium, it’s the noise that helps makes decisions, but I don’t think that about that one. I haven’t spoken to Nico, it’s not the time. But I will speak to him in the next days.
The head coach continued:
“His season for us is finished. He is our nine, our striker, so we have to find a solution for the next games. Marc Guiu is our other striker, but he has been injured for three months.
“What you have to avoid is these kind of things, but it happened. Nico is now out for the season and hopefully he can learn for the future.”
How Newcastle United secured a 2-0 win over Chelsea
Chelsea endured a 2-0 loss at St. James’ Park, starting with an early goal from Sandro Tonali. The midfielder was in the right place at the right time to power in an effort into the roof from close range in the second minute.
The Blues began to mount a comeback challenge, but any hopes of doing so were hampered, as they went down to 10 men before half time. For much of the 90 minutes, Enzo Maresca’s men sought out chances, but could not find the back of the net.
In the 90th minute, a rather ridiculous effort from Bruno Guimaraes was enough to seal the deal for the Magpies. The midfielder’s shot at goal was defectled crazily, looping over the goalkeeper to enter the net.