A Blue Up North reviews our FA Cup victory over Newcastle United.
This weekend saw the 4th round of The FA Cup as Chelsea hosted fellow Premier League opponents Newcastle United at Stamford Bridge. The visitors had lost their previous 5 matches away to The Blues and have a poor record in the competition over the last decade, while the home side were aiming for their 18th visit to the 5th round in the last 20 years.
Antonio Conte made a strong statement with his line up. A 3-4-3 filled with first team regulars, including N’Golo Kante and Eden Hazard, showed the manager’s desire to progress in the competition, especially with not yet another replay. Only Cesar Azpilicueta and Tiemoue Bakayoko were rested from the matchday squad while David Luiz was absent having received an ankle injury in training.
For Newcastle, Rafa Benitez dropped a few of his key players to the bench while he showed his priority of Premier League points with a home match against Burnley coming up on Wednesday evening.
However it was The Magpies who showed more desire and intent during the opening period. Their tactic of pressurising the hosts all over the pitch was epitomised by midfielder Jonjo Shelvey. As the Chelsea players struggled to get up to the level of intensity shown by their counterparts, it looked more likely that it would be Newcastle who would take the lead.
Then just as the tide started to turn towards the hosts, a pass of the season from Pedro set up a counter attack that ended with Michy Batshuayi firing in the opening goal. Then soon before half time, the striker found space again and doubled the lead. There was still time for the away side to pull a goal back before the break but Willy Caballero was up to all the efforts they could muster and so in all reality the tie was effectively over.
Rafa Benitez possibly kept too much faith in his under used players and when he did bring on his top goal scorer Joselu on 64 minutes, it was a like for like swap. His side created few good chances and it was only a matter of time before The Blues increased their lead.
And once again up stepped Marcos Alonso and his free kick talents. The Spanish wing back had been a threat all afternoon. He regularly supported the front 3, was involved with the opening goal and had attempts on target himself. But his sublime free kick was a joy to behold. Everyone, including the Newcastle keeper Darlow knew where he would place his kick but he was still unable to prevent it going in.
Ross Barkley was given another run out and immediately looked an improvement to his showing at Arsenal. He rarely gave the ball away and linked play well whilst always trying to support the strikers.
Conte’s other substitutions saw both youngsters Ethan Ampadu and Callum Hudson-Odoi given valuable first team minutes. Ampadu has impressed at every opportunity and his versatility at such a young age is incredible. But it was Hudson-Odoi who on his debut made sections of the crowd gasp in admiration as he confidently ran with the ball and sprayed 30 yard cross field passes.
Eden Hazard had another impressive match. Always a constant threat and the opposition could not handle his movement and trickery. Davide Zappacosta’s running and crosses added to Chelsea’s attacking options as both wing backs played well against a diamond midfield 4 that probably played a little too narrow.
But it was Michy Batshuayi who made the final difference. His hold up and interlink play were still relatively poor early on but as a striker the most important role is scoring goals. His movement in and around the penalty area and, especially on fast counter attacks, earned him the space and time to build the victory. The young Belgian made his 2 goals look straight forward but it was his striker instinct that created that. In the end his confidence was so high he was taking on all defenders in an attempt to get his hat trick. That is now 12 goals in just 521 minutes of first team action and he now shows the ability and desire that all good strikers need. Surely that is exactly what Conte and the Chelsea faithful are looking for, especially after a relatively barren spell in front of goal.
And with the 2 teenager substitutes also looking the part, the future is showing great potential for The Blues. Roll on the 5th round.
Written by Jon Ellis. Follow him on Twitter @ClitheroeBlue
