Newcastle suffered their 5th defeat in the last 6 league games at Stamford Bridge on Saturday, losing 3-1 to a better Chelsea side despite grabbing the opener.
Rafa Benitez’s side are now only 5 points off the relegation zone, and what appears to have been a great campaign at the start of the season is slowly turning underwhelming.
Dwight Gayle’s goal gave Newcastle hope that they could upset the defending champions, but some sloppy defending at the back saw Eden Hazard and Alvaro Morata fire the host into a first-half lead.
The Toons were an improved side after the break, and did try to equalize but things fell apart the moment Victor Moses was tripped in the box by Matt Ritchie, allowing Hazard to bag his 2nd goal from the spot.
The penalty kick was a fine “Panenka” that rendered Karl Darlow helpless.
The cheeky attempt is often viewed as disrespectful in some quarters, and the Newcastle man claims he wasn’t impressed by it.
Darlow revealed post-game he was left annoyed by the effort, telling the reporters: “I think the game plan was to stay in the game as long as we could.
“At half time, when we were 2-1 down, we wanted to get to 80 minutes and nick something.
“They’re a good side though. We keep battling on. The chip [from Hazard’s penalty] annoyed me a little bit. I’d be lying if I said it didn’t, but it’s a great penalty.”
