Bruno Guimaraes slams 'inconsistent' Newcastle United performance and pinpoints major issue to solve

Newcastle United club captain Bruno Guimaraes described his team’s performance at Stamford Bridge as frustrating and inconsistent after a 2-1 defeat to Chelsea.

Goals from the usual suspects Nicolas Jackson and Cole Palmer won the game for the hosts, with Alexander Isak scoring Newcastle’s only goal of the game.

The defeat leaves Newcastle winless in five matches as Eddie Howe’s side dropped into the bottom half of the Premier League table.

After the game, as visibly emotional Guimaraes hit out at his team’s display and claimed the group need to find better togetherness in the weeks to come if they are to mount a European push.

He explained after the game: “Frustrating. My point of view is we have not been consistent all game. For 25 minutes in the first half and second half we were good but we were not consistent. There were moments when we were very vulnerable. We have to find a way to be consistent for the whole game. I think when we are at our best we can beat every team. I think at least we deserved a draw today.”

Newcastle missed a number of chances to level the game after Palmer’s 47th minute strike. The most notable of those fell to Isak, who raced past defenders Wesley Fofana and Roberto Sanchez before taking one touch too many and losing possession to Moises Caicedo rather than taping it across goal to Joelinton, who had an empty net at his mercy.

The Magpies have scored just nine goals in nine matches this season. A figure that is 15 lower than the tally Eddie Howe’s team had managed at this stage last season.

Guimaraes said: “Scoring, we have to score. We had big chances to score. The last three or four games we have been many times in front of the keeper. Today we had chances to score. We have to play better and be consistent. Sad for today, it is a difficult moment, I am not happy at all. We need our fans on side. We have two big games at home. We count on them and hope we are going to play well and get out of this difficult moment.

“We have to work hard and not give up. Some moments we are good and some moments we are not. At the moment we need togetherness. We have to find a way to score and be clinical and be aggressive. We have to improve.”

Guimaraes was involved in a penalty appeal when he was tripped just outside the penalty area by Chelsea’s Levi Colwill in an incident which denied the Brazilian a clear opportunity to score.

However, because the incident occurred outside the penalty area, VAR opted not to intervene.

Guimaraes commented: “Of course, of course - it is a clear foul. My point of view is they should have at least checked because for me it was a chance to go one on one. Maybe it was a red card and the same player after got another yellow card so he would have been sent off. They should have checked but we have to avoid to speak about this and speak about our way to play.”

Newcastle face Chelsea again in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday at St James’ Park as they bid to progress to the quarter-final for the third consecutive season.

The Magpies then return to Premier League action with a home clash against title hopefuls Arsenal as they aim to resurrect their European bid.