Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino admitted that he was ‘angry and disappointed’ with his side’s wayward display against Newcastle United on Saturday. The Magpies ran out 4-1 winners at St James’ Park to give the Blues a rude awakening after returning from the international break.
Pochettino’s Chelsea were in the game for an hour on Tyneside, until Jamaal Lascelles and Joelinton scored within two minutes of each other to kick-start the hosts’ second-half onslaught.
There was still time for a Reece James red card and for Anthony Gordon to compound Chelsea’s misery by adding a fourth. Pochettino pulled no punches after the final whistle, pledging to scrap a planned day off in order to put his players through their paces in training.
As the dust settles on a sobering day for the Londoners, Express Sport takes you through three players letting Pochettino down…
Mykhaylo Mudryk
Mudryk notching two goals this season – which is two more than he managed last term – has offered Chelsea fans a glimmer of hope that he may still come good. But when things are put in perspective, the Ukrainian is still performing well below expectations.
When compared with other wingers in Europe’s ‘big five’ leagues, there is not a single meaningful metric in which Mudryk ranks inside the top 20th percentile. Concerning stuff for a player who set Todd Boehly and co back an eye-watering £88million.
The speedy wide man is still only 22 years old, which is undoubtedly a factor in his slow start to life in the Premier League. But when compared with the impact 21-year-old Jeremy Doku has made at Manchester City, the difference is striking.
Reece James
The right-back was sent off against Newcastle for picking up an irresponsible and senseless second yellow card, which will keep him out of Brighton’s visit to Stamford Bridge next weekend. Incredibly, James has not started three matches in a row since 2021.
Part of that is down to his injury record, which is not through any fault of his own, but Pochettino needs more from the player he elected club captain back in August, and who can offer so much when he is fit, firing and free from suspension.
Moises Caicedo
Known as a combative, all-action midfielder during his time at Brighton, Caicedo is yet to hit the same heights since signing for Chelsea in the summer. Naturally, a lot is expected of the Ecuadorian given his mind-boggling price tag – a British record £115m.
But many of his defensive metrics are fairly middle-of-the-road compared to other central midfielders in Europe’s top divisions. Caicedo’s pass completion rate is exceptionally high and there have been positives to take from some of his performances, but Pochettino will hope that he starts to dictate matches in the same way he did on the south coast last season.
