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The main talking points and moments missed from Stamford Bridge as Chelsea were defeated by Newcastle United in a game that was overshadowed by a bizarre moment pre-match
There was a constant shout coming from one man in the East Stand at Stamford Bridge on Saturday evening. "Embarrassing," one Chelsea supporter yelled repeatedly during his side's 1-0 defeat to Newcastle United.
The shout was first heard amidst the boos at the half-time whistle, but was repeated at various points in the second half and again as the match reached its conclusion. Chelsea found themselves in some promising positions but Newcastle made their life difficult, with Eddie Howe's side fighting for a first victory at Stamford Bridge in 14 years.
The home crowd lost their patience with Chelsea very early on. Despite the Blues peppering the Magpies' goal for the first 15 or so minutes, it was the visitors that took the lead through Anthony Gordon and that intensified the anger.
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The rage was down to various things. The late collapse in Paris on Wednesday night being one of them, the ever-growing discontent towards the club's owners another. Chelsea supporters are not happy at the moment.
Saturday evening felt like a big opportunity for the Blues in their race for Champions League football. Manchester United and Aston Villa go head-to-head this afternoon (Sunday) meaning they will be taking points off each other, one way or another, while Liverpool are expected to beat the Premier League's most out-of-form side in Tottenham at Anfield.
But Chelsea's home form let them down again. Last season, under Enzo Maresca, the Blues' record at Stamford Bridge was one of their strengths: winning 12 times and losing just two over the course of the Premier League campaign.
This term, after 15 home games in the top-flight, Chelsea have won just six of those and have already lost four in front of their own fans. Liam Rosenior's side have won just one of their last five Premier League matches - home and away. We are now firmly in the 'business end' of the season and Chelsea are wilting away.
Their Champions League dream is likely to reach its conclusion on Tuesday night, bar a remarkable comeback against Paris Saint-Germain at Stamford Bridge. The Blues should reach the FA Cup semi-finals, with League One strugglers Port Vale standing in their way, but that could be the only bright spark in an increasingly disappointing campaign unless they can do something about their underwhelming Premier League form.
This is one of the important talking points from Saturday's defeat, yet the game was overshadowed by something that happened pre-match, leaving Rosenior furious. Chelsea did their pre-match huddle on the centre circle - something they have introduced in the last couple of months - but referee Paul Tierney refused to move from where he was, meaning the Blues players crowded around the official. It was truly a bizarre moment and Rosenior plans to speak to Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) about the incident: "I'm disappointed. There's more focus and emphasis on the things that don't matter.
"I want to protect my players. My players made the decision that they wanted to be around the ball, to respect the ball and show unity and leadership.
"That is not my decision. That was a decision between the leadership group and the team. There is nothing that they are doing with that huddle that is disrespectful to the opposition."We had a meeting with the referee, my assistant goes in, the first thing he talks about is our huddle. He said about when I complained about Arsenal being in our half.
"If Paul had focused more on his job, which was to make the right decision, we have a penalty today. I don't think anybody in this room can say that [Nick] Woltemade doesn't kick Cole Palmer down in the box.
"So, let's focus on the things that are important. My team showing unity is not as important as getting the decisions right on the pitch."
The Chelsea head coach continued his outburst and added: "I didn't speak to Paul today or his officials. I thought it wasn't the right thing to do today. But I'll be speaking to PGMOL. I'll be speaking to the refs and just trying to get an understanding of why that happened today.
"We were told in the rule book it's about timing [when the match kicks off]. You can be where you want as long as you're on time. I just want to find a solution to this because we're actually talking about something that's nowhere near as important as what's happening on the pitch."
Rosenior's comments on Tierney were strong and subsequent action could be taken against the Chelsea head coach, we will have to wait and see. Equally, though, Rosenior has the right to be frustrated with his team not being awarded a penalty in the second half.
Woltemade clearly tripped Palmer. It's one of those; if Tierney had given it, there was no way VAR would have overturned it but because the referee did not think it was a foul at the time, there was no chance of an intervention from those at Stockley Park.
Palmer certainly felt as if he had been fouled. The 23-year-old vented his frustration to the assistant referee 72 minutes in during a break in play, shouting in his direction, presumably about the decision not to give Chelsea a spot kick.
It was one of many sources of frustration from a Chelsea perspective on Saturday evening. It has been almost three years since a team had more shots than the Blues' 22 without scoring a goal during a home match in the Premier League.
Boos rang around Stamford Bridge at full time as Chelsea's dejected players walked down the tunnel. As for Newcastle, party classics such as Freed from Desire and Sweet Caroline could be heard blaring from their changing room. Such are the highs and lows of football.
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