5/10 Newcastle star was just as bad as Dan Burn vs Chelsea

Newcastle United stumbled to another defeat, losing 2-1 against Chelsea, to pile on the misery for Eddie Howe and his side.

The Magpies have now failed to win their last five games in the Premier League and find themselves in 12th place on 12 points.

Today, against the Blues, they were put to the sword despite clawing a goal back to make it 1-1 at half-time. Enzo Maresca’s side took the lead just 18 minutes into the game, 12 minutes after Cole Palmer had a goal disallowed. It was Nicolas Jackson who gave the home side the lead, finding himself completely unmarked in the box, converting Pedro Neto’s cross from ten or so yards out.

Newcastle centre-forward Alexander Isak equalised for the visitors. The Sweden international showed a brilliant striker’s instinct, getting on the end of a Lewis Hall cross to draw his side level. Palmer, however, did get his say, firing Chelsea into the lead, charging into acres of space to fire from range past Nick Pope.

The Magpies were unable to find an answer and suffered another defeat. There were certainly some disappointing performances from Howe’s side, particularly from the likes of Dan Burn.

Burn’s stats vs. Chelsea

Former Brighton defender Burn has been an integral part of the project at St James’ Park since his move from Brighton a few years ago. However, he struggled against Maresca’s Chelsea side on Sunday afternoon.

Standing at a huge 6 foot 7, 32-year-old defender Burn struggled at the Bridge, particularly in the first 45 minutes, where Jackson made his afternoon a nightmare. The Senegal striker turned him all too easily for Chelsea’s early disallowed goal.

Indeed, he received a post-match rating of 5/10 from Jordan Cronin, journalist for Newcastle World, who explained that Burn had a ‘torrid first half’, although he did improve his performance level after the interval.

The full-time stats for the Newcastle defender also showed that he struggled at times. The Magpies number 33 had 72 touches at the Bridge, lost the ball seven times and won just 50% of his ground duels. There were some positives for Burn, however, as he made four clearances.

It was certainly a tough day at the office for Newcastle’s giant defender, especially in the first half. His centre-back partner, Fabian Schar, also found it just as tough against a potent Chelsea attack.

Schar’s stats vs. Chelsea

If Burn had things tough at the Bridge, then the same can certainly be said for Switzerland international Schar. The likes of Jackson and Palmer can make things tough for any defender, and Newcastle’s number five was certainly on the receiving end of that.

Just as Burn got spun for Palmer’s strike that was eventually ruled offside, the 32-year-old Swiss was left red-faced for Chelsea’s opener. He missed a crucial slide tackle on Pedro Neto, allowing the Blues’ number seven room to continue his run down the left wing and tee Jackson up.

The full-time numbers for Newcastle’s number five did not make for pretty reading. Despite having 69 touches and completing 81% of his passes, the defender won just four from eight duels and lost the ball a frustrating 12 times. He was also dribbled past twice.

The aforementioned Cronin did not make much of his efforts at Stamford Bridge, either. The Newcastle World journalist rated Schar’s performance a 5/10, explaining that he had a ‘tough afternoon’ and noted his error which allowed Neto in behind the Magpies’ defence.

It may well be a cause for concern for Howe that his centre-backs both struggled against Chelsea on Sunday afternoon. He will no doubt hope they can rectify this soon and find their best form, with a busy Christmas period not too far away.