Criminal Nicolas Jackson

On the evening of May 11th, Chelsea were reduced to ten men from the 36th minute and lost 0-2 to hosts Newcastle in the 36th round of the Premier League.

In what was considered a "final" match for a Champions League spot, Chelsea showed clear signs of confusion against Newcastle's pressing style of play. Things worsened for Enzo Maresca's side when the St James' Park side took the lead after Romeo Lavia lost possession in the 2nd minute. Jacob Murphy surged down the right wing, delivering a perfect cross for Sandro Tonali to finish from close range, beating Robert Sanchez.

While the visiting team was still unable to respond, Nicolas Jackson unexpectedly elbowed Sven Botman in the face, resulting in a red card in the 36th minute. This impulsive and irresponsible act by the Senegalese striker put the London team in a difficult situation for the remainder of the match. Jackson himself was suspended for the rest of the season.

Jackson's red card left Chelsea with no chance of turning the tide.

With only 10 men on the pitch, Chelsea launched desperate attacks. Cole Palmer couldn't make a difference against the home side's solid defense, while Pedro Neto's individual efforts were also ineffective in troubleing Nick Pope. The only time the English goalkeeper had to make a difficult save was in the 62nd minute, when he dived to block a powerful angled shot from Marc Cucurella.

Newcastle played cautiously and needed only one chance in the 90+1 minute to put an end to Chelsea's hopes of getting a point. Bruno Guimaraes unleashed a shot from outside the penalty area, the ball deflecting off a Chelsea player and into the net, leaving Sanchez helpless.

The disastrous defeat saw Chelsea drop to fifth place with 63 points. Manager Maresca's team are now only ahead of Aston Villa, who are in sixth place, on goal difference (+19 compared to +7). Conversely, Newcastle rose to third place and are on the verge of a historic season having won both the League Cup and qualified for the Champions League.

The race for the top five in the Premier League remains intense. In the final two rounds, Newcastle will face Everton and Arsenal, while Chelsea will also clash with two tough opponents, Manchester United and Nottingham. Any mistake could shatter the Champions League dreams of Chelsea, Newcastle, or Nottingham.

Premier League standings.

Source: https://znews.vn/toi-do-nicolas-jackson-post1552582.html