Chelsea picked up a point on the road against Newcastle United, drawing 2-2 with the Magpies on Saturday lunchtime. St James’ Park witnessed one of the finest games in the Premier League this season, with constant action at both ends.
Maresca
The game started in the worst possible fashion for the Blues. Nick Woltemade struck twice in the opening 20 minutes of the game to leave Enzo Maresca’s side reeling. Goalkeeper Rob Sanchez did his best to prevent the first, pulling off a fine save, but the German managed to score the rebound. His second was a well-directed effort from a free kick.
Despite losing at half-time, it didn’t take the Blues long to hit back. It was a fantastic strike from club captain Reece James, who fired home a free-kick from 25-yards out. The England international saw his effort dip over the Magpies' wall, clatter into the post and into the back of the net.
The Blues’ equaliser came in the 66th minute, through striker Joao Pedro. It was some impressive skill from the Brazilian, which bought him the space, flicking the ball over Malick Thiaw with his head. Pedro was soon bearing down on goal and fired home to equalise.
Despite a good comeback from Chelsea, there were some disappointing performances across the board.
Chelsea’s most disappointing players vs Newcastle
It was a performance to forget for Chelsea winger Alejandro Garnacho. Coming off two goals in midweek against Cardiff City in the Carabao Cup, he was wasteful in the North East and regularly made the wrong decision in the final third.
Garnacho-1
That was picked up on by Football London journalist Bobby Vincent. The senior Chelsea reporter gave the Blues’ number 49 a rating of 4/10, explaining that he “needed to pass” more often, rather than constantly shooting.
Another player who struggled against Howe’s side was defender Wesley Fofana. The Frenchman has formed a strong centre-back pairing with Trevoh Chalobah in recent weeks, but was certainly not at his best against Newcastle. He was dispossessed when carrying the ball forward by Anthony Gordon in the lead-up to Woltemade’s opener.
Fofana
Indeed, his stats from the game reflect how tough of an afternoon it was for the former Leicester City man. Fofana had 59 touches but lost the ball four times and struggled to dominate defensively. He only won three duels out of nine attempted.
As bad as Garnacho and Fofana were, there was a Chelsea player who was arguably worse.
Chelsea’s worst player vs Newcastle
It was certainly a tough day at the office for France international Malo Gusto. Starting at right-back with James in midfield, he struggled going up against Gordon in the first half, who was a constant threat running at him.
Malo Gusto
The former Lyon defender was also someone who switched off a bit for the first Magpies’ goal. Gusto let England international Gordon make a run from behind his back, getting ahead of him and striking an effort at goal. The rebound from that Sanchez save led to the goal.
His performance only earned him a 4/10 rating from Vincent. The journalist said he was “sloppy” at the back, which is reflected in the stats. Gusto had just 26 touches, almost half the amount of Sanchez's, and failed to win either of his attempted duels.
Gusto key stats vs Newcastle
Stat
Touches
Passes completed
Number of times ball lost
Ground duels won
Fouls committed
Ball recoveries
Stats from Sofascore
It remains to be seen if Gusto will keep his place in the Chelsea side. They next play after Christmas, with a tough trip to Aston Villa next up on the 27th of December. Coming up against the likes of Morgan Rogers will certainly mean the Frenchman has his work cut out.
Maresca has options if he wishes to change things. The logical thing to do, of course, would be to play James at right-back again and pick a midfielder. Enzo Fernandez is the obvious option, but Andrey Santos could also slot into the side.
Gusto
Either way, after Gusto’s struggles away to Newcastle, and the fact that they need quality on the ball at Villa Park to help control the game, Maresca might well decide to rotate him out of the side. It was certainly a performance to forget for the Frenchman this weekend.
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