NEWCASTLE UNITED progressed to the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup as they beat Chelsea 2-0 thanks to a fine finish from Alexander Isak and an own goal from Alex Disasi.

What were the key talking points from the game at St James’ Park?


HOWE’S BIG CALLS

Eddie Howe was always going to make changes in the wake of last weekend’s league defeat to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge – the question was how many, and where?

Anthony Gordon’s return from a groin injury was a major pre-match boost to the Magpies, with the England international back in the starting side after missing Sunday’s 2-1 loss in west London.

Gordon was always going to start once fully fit. Howe’s changes to the back four were more of a gamble, with Lloyd Kelly making his first Newcastle start as a centre-half in place of Dan Burn, who had struggled against Nicolas Jackson at the weekend, and Emil Krafth returning at right-back in place of Tino Livramento.

Kelly had an excellent evening, with the highlight of his best display in a Newcastle shirt coming at the start of the second half when he threw himself to the ground in the box to block a goal-bound shot from Christopher Nkunku. Krafth was also a big factor in Newcastle’s clean sheet, shoring things up on the right of the back four.

Howe’s two other changes came in midfield, with Sean Longstaff and Joe Willock restored to the starting side to play alongside Sandro Tonali.

With Bruno Guimaraes on the bench, Tonali was able to play in his preferred position as the central of the three midfielders. The Italian looked much more comfortable playing centrally, which will give Howe something to think about as he plans his side for the next few weeks.

Guimaraes has been a key player for Newcastle for quite a while now. But when the Brazilian plays in his current role, Tonali is moved from his best position.


THE PRESS IS BACK

Where has this Newcastle United been all season? When the Magpies have been at their best under Howe, they have been aggressive high pressers, harassing and rattling opposition defenders and winning the ball high up the field.

That side of their play has been largely absent this season, with far too many of Newcastle’s performances having been passive and timid. That wasn’t the case tonight.

From the very off, Newcastle’s forwards and midfielders were looking to pin Chelsea’s defenders into their own defensive third. Unlike on Sunday at Stamford Bridge, the Blues’ players were denied any time or space on the ball, with Joelinton and Joe Willock leading the way and setting the tempo for those in black-and-white.

Chelsea were rattled, and Newcastle’s 23rd-minute opener was a direct result of their ferocious pressing high up the field. Joelinton did not give Renato Viega a second as the Chelsea youngster attempted to receive a risky pass from Benoit Badiashile. The ball broke to Sandro Tonali, he prodded it forward to Alexander Isak, and the Swede stroked a precise finish into the bottom corner.


JOELINTON ON THE LEFT

While Joelinton retained his place from the side that lost at the weekend, he found himself in a different position last night as he was pushed forward into Newcastle’s left-attacking role, with Anthony Gordon switching across to the opposite flank.

Joelinton played as part of the Magpies’ front three during part of the season that ended with qualification for the Champions League, but has spent most of his time since playing in a deeper-lying midfield role.

There is definitely an argument that he is more effective playing further forward. There were times last night, when he was marauding down the flank and driving at Chelsea right-back Axel Disasi, when the Brazilian looked back to his best.

He was the leader of Newcastle’s press, and it is much easier for him to start his side’s collective pressing when he pushed right on to the opposition defence.

On the flip side, however, his lack of composure in front of goal was one of the prime reasons why he was moved out of the centre-forward role he filled when he first joined Newcastle, and he passed up a glorious chance just three minutes in when he shot against the post from an unmarked position six yards out. On another night, that miss could have proved costly.


CHELSEA’S SQUAD DEPTH

While Howe made five changes to his Newcastle side, Enzo Maresca replaced all 11 of the players that had started the league game at Stamford Bridge.

Given the scale of Maresca’s alterations, the strength of the side Chelsea were able to put out was remarkable, and while the Blues might have crashed out of the Carabao Cup, they continue to operate on a different financial plain to Newcastle.

Chelsea’s supposed B team featured a World Cup winner in Enzo Fernandez, a Euros champion in Marc Cucurella and a front three comprised of Joao Felix, Christopher Nkunku and Mykhailo Mudryk that was worth a combined sum of £180m.

Since Todd Boehly and his co-owners took over at Chelsea in the summer of 2022, the club has spent around £1.3bn on new players. Some will claim they have pushed beyond the limits of what should really be permitted under the Premier League’s PSR regulations, but the fact is that they have spent vast sums while so far avoiding a points penalty.

Newcastle, on the other hand, have stuck rigidly to the rules and almost certainly suffered as a result. Despite tonight’s victory, the Magpies have to find a way of being more effective in the transfer market if they are to keep up with the likes of Chelsea in the Premier League.