Only four Premier League matches – that’s what Chelsea have won this season after being thrashed by Newcastle on Saturday.
Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino has been told in no uncertain terms he needs to drop Nicolas Jackson in the wake of the Blues’ bashing at the hands of Newcastle on Saturday. The west Londoners were clearly outplayed by the Magpies throughout the showdown at St James’ Park and were soundly defeated 4-1.
The scoring opened up with Alexander Isak doing the honors for the home side in the north east after 13 minutes. Raheem Sterling then equalized courtesy of a free-kick. Jamaal Lascelles and Joe Linton followed up next for the hosts 90 seconds apart after the break. Anthony Gordon then sealed the deal for the Magpies in the final stages.
Jackson was named in the Chelsea starting line-up for the 10th time in the Premier League for the trip to the north east. But he was anonymous for large spells of the encounter and barely threatened before being hauled off midway through the second half.
£32-million signee Jackson had played the unlikely hero after bagging six Premier League goals since joining Chelsea from Villarreal in the summer. However three of those strikes were notched against Tottenham when the Lilywhites were down to only nine men. That aside, the 22-year-old has been found delinquent in squandering a whole host of scoring opportunities in other matches.
To date, Jackson has failed to score in eight of his 12 Premier League appearances this season. Former Blues star Craig Burley believes Armando Broja would be a more suitable candidate to provide Pochettino with better options in front of goal.
“Let’s be honest, Nico Jackson’s not the answer,” Burley told ESPN. “I don’t dislike Broja. I know he’s had his injury problems, but I think I’d rather have him up front than Jackson. I know he got his goals against Tottenham but, come on, let’s be realistic – they were down to nine men at the time.”
Chelsea’s defeat on Tyneside is a stark reminder they are ingloriously sitting 10th in the Premier League table with just four wins to their name.