The manager of Newcastle United, Eddie Howe, claims he was blind to Chelsea’s goal against his team last night.
Mykhailo Mudryk’s goal at the very end of the two Premier League teams’ Carabao Cup quarterfinal matchup forced penalties.
Furthermore, Eddie Howe acknowledged that he did not believe Chelsea would equalise in an interview with NUFC TV.
Thanks to some strong defence, the Magpies took the lead in the first half and were able to maintain it for the majority of the game. However, Mudryk was able to slot the ball into Martin Dubravka’s bottom corner thanks to a mistake made by Kieran Trippier.
Chelsea’s goal surprised Eddie Howe.
Howe did not anticipate Chelsea to score because Newcastle was defending so brilliantly and maintaining their shape.
The 46-year-old commented on the late goal his team gave up, saying: “I thought we were really good in our defensive positioning, covering space, individual duels, and battles.” We looked like a true counter threat in the first half, which was fantastic to witness, but in the second half, that threat evaporated. However, as we grew tired and somewhat lost our footing, we came to terms with our roles and I believed we would win the game.
The goal is just one of those things that can happen on a football pitch because there are moments and things that happen, but I couldn’t see them scoring at that precise moment. We looked comfortable and it appeared like we had absorbed most of their threats. They changed things, but it didn’t really change the flow of the game.
Mykhailo Mudryk’s unexpected equaliser for Chelsea
Not just Howe, but many others at Stamford Bridge, would have been taken aback upon witnessing Chelsea’s victory. No doubt some Blues fans would have felt the same way.
This season, Mauricio Pochettino’s team has had numerous instances where they have truly struggled to break through a strong defence. For instance, their 0-0 draw with Bournemouth and their 2-0 loss to Brentford, a rival team in west London.
Though it is a surprise that Chelsea supporters will undoubtedly be pleased with, perhaps the team can improve at breaking down extremely weak defences.
Even though the Blues are not the same team as they once were, many teams still respect them greatly by playing extremely deep defence. Pochettino must figure out how to defeat this calibre of opposition.
