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Steve Bruce verging on delusional after Chelsea 1 Newcastle 0 “We had some unbelievable opportunities”

4 years ago
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It ended Chelsea 1 Newcastle 0 on Saturday, Steve Bruce watching on as Newcastle failed to have a single corner or effort on target.

The odd time Newcastle did press early on, the Chelsea defenders showed why they had already conceded 14 goals in eight Premier League games and only kept one clean sheet.

Steve Bruce claimed Newcastle ‘had some unbelievable opportunities’ in the first half but that is very much stretching it and on the verge of being delusional.

Having the ball near the Chelsea box doesn’t quite add up to ‘unbelievable opportunities’…If Steve Bruce was right in saying that, Chelsea must have had about 25 of them.

Sheffield United, Wolves and Norwich had all scored twice against Chelsea but in their tenth game of the season, Newcastle didn’t look like scoring once, never mind twice for the first time.

You couldn’t question the effort but only some great saves by Dubravka and excellent blocks/challenges from the likes of Schar and Clark kept the score down.

The simple fact is that if you don’t have any corners or shots on target, a bit difficult to score a goal.

Steve Bruce says ‘The big thing is we have to find some goals’, well it would help if he didn’t set the team up so negatively every single game.

The head coach says that Newcastle now easier games after a tough opening but Brighton, Norwich and Watford are all bottom five and Newcastle were woeful against all three, getting two very lucky draws.

Even the two wins saw the Tottenham keeping making only one save and David De Gea none at all, Newcastle beating Man Utd and Spurs with a goal in each despite next to no efforts on target.

Are the strikers as bad as they look so far, or is it the tactics…or both?

Steve Bruce needs to come up with the answers quickly ahead of these supposedly easier games…because as it stands, Newcastle are now back in the bottom three.

Steve Bruce after the defeat:

“We had some unbelievable opportunities in the first half and took the wrong option, the wrong pass.

“Overall, especially first half, we were excellent.

“The way we played I thought we gave as good as we got.

“I couldn’t ask for any more effort.

“The big thing where we have to improve is in the last third.

“We knew it was going to be a difficult start and Leicester’s always going to be rammed down our throats but we knew we had Arsenal, Man Utd, Tottenham, Liverpool and Leicester.

“We have had an unbelievably difficult start and no disrespect to the teams we play next but we have got teams who we think are going to be in and around us.

“It is always difficult to assess these tough games as it was a tough opening stretch but we are back to St James Park next and lets hope we can get the result everyone wants.

“The big thing is we have to find some goals.”

Stats from BBC Sport:

Chelsea 1 Newcastle 0  – Saturday 19 October 3pm

Goals:

Chelsea

Alonso 73

Possession was Chelsea 71% Newcastle 29%

Total shots were Chelsea 16 Newcastle 5

Shots on target were Chelsea 8 Newcastle 0

Corners were Chelsea 11 Newcastle 0

Referee: Andre Marriner

Newcastle team:

Dubravka, Yedlin, Schar, Lascelles, Clark, Willems, M Longstaff, S Longstaff, Saint-Maximin (Gayle 85), Almiron (Carroll 70), Joelinton (Atsu 83)

Unused Subs

Darlow, Dummett, Shelvey, Krafth

(Chelsea 1 Newcastle 0 – Instant NUFC fan/writer reaction to Saturday’s defeat – Read HERE)

(Watch the Chelsea 1 Newcastle 0 official match highlights HERE)

(A negative display ends Chelsea 1 Newcastle 0 and Steve Bruce’s team back in relegation zone – Read HERE)

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