FIFA 19 sim: Newcastle United concede late to lose 1-0 to Chelsea

In an uneven match on paper, Chelsea secured the victory over underdog Newcastle United in our FIFA 19 simulation.

After a frustrating result in the FA Cup against the club currently 15th in the Championship, Newcastle United will face the club sitting fourth in the Premier League later today. The Toon travel to Stamford Bridge to try and upset Chelsea. Before the real sides kick off this evening, we turned to FIFA 19 to give us an early look at this lopsided matchup.

For Newcastle United’s lineup, we had to guess how Rafa Benitez will line his depleted side up against an attack-minded club. After some thought, we went with an improvised 5-1-3-1 formation that features: Dubravka, Yedlin, Lascelles, Schar, Fernandez, Manquillo, Hayden, Ritchie, Perez, Atsu, and Rondon.

As expected, Newcastle bunkered down against the Blues dangerous attack. Early on, Federico Fernandez was called on to knock away a dangerous cross from Willian. Star midfielder N’golo Kante had the first shot of the match, but it rolled wide past the post. Jorginho would put the first effort on frame, an easy save for Martin Dubravka. Olivier Giroud nearly opened the scoring around the half-hour mark, forcing a diving stop from the Newcastle keeper. Willian’s rebound chance went over the bar. In first-half stoppage time, the Magpies got out on the counter-attack, but Matt Ritchie lost his footing as he made a move towards the box.

At the break, Chelsea held 67% of possession and led on shots six to zero. The Blues also completed 92% of their passes.

The first substitution of the match by Rafa Benitez was Joselu coming on for Ayoze Perez shortly after the break. Moments after that change, Chelsea nearly opened the scoring. A deflected shot found Eden Hazard unmarked in front of goal and Dubravka’s left foot kept the ball out. Jacob Murphy replaced Christian Atsu in the 65th minute. The final move of the match was youngster Sean Longstaff coming on for Isaac Hayden.

With an A+ defensive performance, especially from the trio in central defense, it looked like Newcastle United would escape with an unexpected draw. Then, Eden Hazard scored in the 86th minute from well outside the penalty area. The rocket from the Belgian gave Chelsea a well-deserved victory, despite a quality shot from Murphy in the final moments. That final effort was one of only three shots for the Toon and the only one on frame.