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Flashback: A Marcos Alonso goal sinks Newcastle vs. Chelsea

By Carson A Merk

LONDON, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 19: Ross Barkley of Chelsea tackles Allan Saint-Maximin of Newcastle United during the Premier League match between Chelsea FC and Newcastle United at Stamford Bridge on October 19, 2019 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Paul Harding/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 19: Ross Barkley of Chelsea tackles Allan Saint-Maximin of Newcastle United during the Premier League match between Chelsea FC and Newcastle United at Stamford Bridge on October 19, 2019 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Paul Harding/Getty Images) /
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Back in October, Chelsea snuck past Newcastle United by way of a late goal.

Newcastle United blew out Rochdale in the FA Cup on Tuesday and next up, they will host Chelsea in Premier League action. The clubs met earlier this season and we take a look back at the reverse fixture before Saturday’s match.

The Details

10/19/19 at Stamford Bridge

Chelsea 1, Newcastle United 0

The Lineups

Newcastle United

Dubravka/Yedlin/Schar/Lascelles/Clark/Willems/Almiron/S. Longstaff/M. Longstaff/Saint-Maximin/Joelinton

Subs: Atsu/Carroll/Gayle

Chelsea

Kepa/Azpilicueta/Zouma/Tomori/Alonso/Barkley/Jorginho/Mount/Willian/Abraham/Hudson-Odoi

Subs: James/Kovacic/Pulisic

The Recap

As a surprise to no one, Newcastle United went into London in October and sat back defensively vs. Chelsea. Steve Bruce set up numbers behind the ball and relied on Allan Saint-Maximin to be the primary source of action the other way, trying to beat the Blues on the break. But, outside of his and Miguel Almiron’s runs, it was largely a dig deep and defend with Newcastle only holding 28% of possession, facing 16 shots, and putting zero on frame themselves. Chelsea had nearly 400 more passes and completed 87% of their attempts.

Ciaran Clark was big in the defense, making big tackles in the area on multiple occasions, and Martin Dubravka came up with some huge saves. It looked like the Magpies may sneak out of Stamford Bridge with a scoreless draw. But, in the 73rd minute, Marcos Alonso beat Dubravka from distance, a shot that was not impossible to save for the Slovakian.

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The narrow loss came during a positive run for Newcastle United. It was their only loss in a stretch of five matches, including three wins. Now, the Magpies will face Chelsea during one of their toughest stretches this season in the reverse fixture.