Ruthless sacking, £175m transfer decision and key changes Chelsea have made ahead of Newcastle
Just over 12 months ago, Chelsea played their final game before the FIFA World Cup in Qatar took place. The Blues were beaten 1-0 at the hands of Newcastle United in front of a raucous home support at a bouncing St James' Park.
Joe Willock scored the only goal of the game to ensure the Magpies could continue their hunt – that ended up being successful – for European football. Graham Potter, the Chelsea head coach at the time, explained after the game how there was a difference in confidence levels between the two sides.
«Newcastle played with huge intensity, they're in a confident moment,» Potter said. «You can see the difference between the two teams in terms of the schedules.
»In terms of running power and intensity – that was a challenge for us. It was a relatively tight game, to be honest, but Newcastle put you under pressure. It was a tough match. We had to make changes because they were overrunning us a bit."
Chelsea's XI that lost 1-0 to Newcastle last season (on November 12, 2022) was as follows: Edouard Mendy, Cesar Azpilicueta, Trevoh Chalobah, Kalidou Koulibaly, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Mateo Kovacic, Jorginho, Lewis Hall, Mason Mount, Conor Gallagher, Armando Broja. Only three of these players remain at Chelsea (four if you include Hall, who is on loan at Newcastle).
Chalobah, Gallagher and Broja – all products of the Chelsea academy system – are the only three to still be at Stamford Bridge. The others, where we will include Hall because his loan has an obligation to become permanent at Newcastle, have been sold for around £175million in total over the last two transfer windows.
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