“I didn’t know he will pass the ball to me like that”- Chelsea Star Thiago Silva was in tears as he open up on the ‘painful mistake’ that cost Chelsea’s a WIN against Newcastle today- Pochettino has told the player that he will never
The west Londoners fell behind early on to a goal from Alexander Isak, but Raheem Sterling levelled the scores slightly against the run of play.
However, Chelsea fell behind in the second half, conceding twice in 60 seconds on the hour mark, with Jamaal Lascelles putting Newcastle ahead again before Thiago Silva handed Joelinton a third.
The experienced centre-half, who is normally the last guy back for Chelsea, was the last man back when he under-hit a pass, allowing Joelinton in for an easy one-v-one.
To make matters worse for Chelsea, captain Reece James was sent off shortly after, before Anthony Gordon scored the hosts’ fourth goal of the afternoon.
Chelsea were far below par throughout, particularly in the second half, but Silva believes he played a larger role than most in the thrashing defeat and spoke out on social media afterwards.
‘I’m crushed,’ the 39-year-old wrote on Instagram. It had not been a nice day for us.
‘I’d like to apologise to everyone for the loss, especially to my teammates, who trust in me and support me every day. I accept all responsibility. Let us gather our strength and return stronger.’
Following the game, manager Mauricio Pochettino downplayed his defender’s gaffe, believing that the team’s collective attitude, rather than individual faults, was the most serious issue.
‘That is a mistake; I am not discussing mistakes. I’m talking about energy, and we weren’t in the correct… We were not adequately prepared to compete today. That is my concern,’ said Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho.
‘We felt we were ready to participate today, but we didn’t do it in the manner that the tournament needed,’ said the team. Even if Newcastle wasn’t terrific, it was a simple victory. To come here, Chelsea, and demonstrate how difficult it would be for them to perform in order to win the game and beat us.
‘It was so simple that we gave in. We did not demonstrate that we were competing for anything meaningful by being soft in every single task.
‘That’s why I was irritated and disappointed. Even if we are a young team, we need to learn. These kinds of games irritate me because they encourage people to demonstrate more personality and character.
We may be young, but we cannot afford to pass up this opportunity to shine. We cannot come from Tottenham, Manchester City, [where] people all over the globe admired Chelsea and then say: “OK, I stop one step before, I don’t put in the effort at the right time, OK, no problem, it will fix my teammate in behind.” That is an issue.
‘We need to be more steadfast in this regard. Of sure, it is mental, and it is not attitude; it is about displaying greater strength in our mental game and being ready to compete. These are not the same people who play football. I can play football, and you can play football, but will we be able to compete? I want to be ready to compete, but we weren’t today.’
