Newcastle United’s inability to create chances against Chelsea on Saturday afternoon is a “big concern”, according to The Athletic journalist Chris Waugh.
The Magpies were undone by a late strike from Marcos Alonso in the 1-0 defeat, and managed just five efforts on goal compared to the Blues’ 16, as per the BBC.
Writing in a Q&A for The Athletic after the game, Waugh said: “First half I thought on the break they looked pretty effective, but the final ball is lacking.
“Defensively it was far better, but I wasn’t sure about the game-plan during the second half.
“When they went direct later on they were a little more threatening, but it still wasn’t ideal. A big concern.”
OPINION
This is becoming a recurring theme for Newcastle United this season. Ultimately, the Magpies are struggling to get on the ball, and that means that they are seeing a negative domino effect in other aspects of their game. Taking yesterday as an example, Steve Bruce’s men had just 29% possession, and as such, it was little surprise to see them register less than a third of the chances that Chelsea did, as per the BBC. But the issue stretches beyond a single match. The Toon Army have the joint lowest amount of goals in the Premier League so far, as well as the third lowest amount of shots, the second lowest amount of passes, and the second lowest amount of balls into the box from wide positions, as per the league themselves. In short, they aren’t creating enough, and that is, as Waugh says, a big concern.
