Newcastle United fans hit out at failed contract talks as Alexander Isak goes from hero to villain at Chelsea

It’s now five Premier League games without a win for Newcastle as they start a tricky three-game week with defeat. Here are five talking points from the game...

Fresh Newcastle United injury blow

No fresh injuries were reported by Eddie Howe in Friday’s press conference but the Newcastle boss made two changes to the side that lost 1-0 against Brighton & Hove Albion in the previous match. Harvey Barnes returned to the side and Miguel Almiron started his first Premier League game since March.

Interestingly, Almiron’s last Premier League start for Newcastle came in the 3-2 defeat at Stamford Bridge last season.

He came in for Jacob Murphy, who dropped to the bench while Barnes replaced Anthony Gordon in the starting line-up. Gordon had started every Premier League game for Newcastle this season but was ruled out of Sunday’s match with a groin issue picked up on Saturday.

The 23-year-old did make the trip to Stamford Bridge and was seen deep in conversation with Graeme Jones on the pitch ahead of the match but the decision was made not to include him as Howe named two goalkeepers on the bench in John Ruddy and Odysseas Vlachodimos. Martin Dubravka has been nursing an injury picked up against AFC Wimbledon before the October international break.

Newcastle United escape early blow as VAR plays its part

Chelsea thought they’d taken the lead when Palmer slotted the ball into the bottom right corner of the goal inside the opening four minutes of the game. The goal was given on field before VAR intervened and ruled the goal out for offside.

The Premier League Match Centre, which explains VAR decisions in real-time, issued a short statement following the incident: “Palmer’s goal was initially awarded on-field. The VAR checked and confirmed that Palmer was in an offside position and recommended that the goal was disallowed.”

Replays showed Palmer was narrowly offside ahead of the defending Bruno Guimaraes. But Chelsea went ahead less than 15 minutes later as Pedro Neto’s low cross was slotted in by Nicolas Jackson.

Newcastle United fans hit back at failed transfer

Tosin Adarabioyo was named on the bench for Chelsea on Sunday afternoon and didn’t get on the pitch but was made to warm up in front of the Newcastle fans in the first half.

The defender held talks with Newcastle over a potential free transfer in the summer before opting to join Chelsea instead.

When asked about the deal ahead of the match, Newcastle boss Howe said: "I don't think it's that simple, but we were exploring a few free transfer deals that we feel could have certainly given us a bit more freedom. When you're in our position, with PSR being very tight, you have to be creative.

“We were looking at the free transfer market and Lloyd Kelly was one we feel was really smart business. I don't think it's right for me to talk about other individual targets, but certainly that's something we did explore.”

And Newcastle fans aimed some chants at Adarabioyo during the match with some colourful language. The supporters called the defender ‘greedy’ and asked ‘Who the ------- hell are you?’ As the Chelsea man was left smirking on the touchline.

Newcastle United’s unwanted record is finally over

It had been over seven hours without a goal from open play for Newcastle until Alexander Isak popped up and tapped in Lewis Hall’s cross from the left to end the barren run. It rounded off a good team move for Newcastle as Tino Livramento brought the ball out well before Harvey Barnes found Hall to set up Isak’s equalising goal.

The goal was subject to a lengthy VAR check but the on-field decision to allow the goal remained. It was an important goal for the Swedish striker, who had netted only once in seven matches before Sunday afternoon.

It’s also a third consecutive Premier League goal against Chelsea for Isak, who was linked with a move to Stamford Bridge in the summer.

But any joy The Magpies had from the goal would be short-lived.

Second-half woe for Newcastle United as Alexander Isak goes from hero to villain

Within one minute of the restart, Chelsea went back in front after cutting out another loose ball in midfield. Palmer charged toward goal and found the bottom left corner of the goal from the edge of the box.

Still, The Magpies had a golden opportunity to draw level with 15 minutes remaining as Alexander Isak brought the ball past Chelsea goalkeeper Robert Sanchez on the byline and tried to go himself despite Joelinton and Sean Longstaff open inside the box. The striker was unable to find a pass or a shot as the scoreline remained 2-1, his teammates and Howe not happy.

The hosts thought they had a chance to seal the win in stoppage time after Christopher Nkunku went down under a touch from Dan Burn inside the penalty area.

Simon Hooper pointed to the spot but VAR intervened and the decision was overturned.

Explaining the call, Premier League Match Centre tweeted: “The referee awarded a penalty to Chelsea for a foul by Burn on Nkunku. The VAR deemed that no foul was committed and recommended an on-field review. The referee overturned the original decision and play restarted with a drop ball.”

But Chelsea still got the last laugh as they were able to see out the win and climb to fourth in the table while Newcastle are 12th and five games without a win. Next up is Chelsea again in the Carabao Cup before Arsenal come to St James’ Park next Saturday in what could prove to be a crucial week for Howe and his side.