Chelsea suffered a major blow in the pursuit of Champions League football after a crushing defeat against Newcastle United.
On Sunday afternoon, Chelsea lost 2-0 away to Newcastle in the crunch Premier League fixture.
The Blues started the weekend sitting in fifth spot in the Premier League table, which would be enough to qualify for next season’s Champions League. However, they’ll be leapfrogged by Nottingham Forest if they win at home to Leicester City later on Sunday.
Sandro Tonali’s early goal put the hosts in front at St James’ Park. In the 35th minute, Chelsea’s day got even worse when Nicolas Jackson was shown a red card after a VAR check for an elbow on Sven Botman.
Despite a spirited performance from Enzo Maresca’s side with 10 men, Bruno Guimaraes doubled Newcastle’s advantage in the 90th minute with a deflected effort.
Chelsea’s player ratings versus Newcastle reflected a hugely frustrating result, and it leaves the Blues with a lot of work to do going into their final two league games of the season.
Chelsea fans furious with Cole Palmer display vs Newcastle
Of course, Jackson’s come under major criticism from the fanbase after his needless dismissal meant that the team played with a man less for over half the contest.
However, Chelsea supporters on X really didn’t enjoy the performance of Cole Palmer this weekend.
The 23-year-old attacking midfielder struggled to make his impact on the game, including when he pushed further up the pitch to fill Jackson’s void.
Here are Blues fans on X criticising Palmer:
One fan wrote: “Jackson made a silly mistake and cost his team. Palmer has also been very poor.”
“Jackson getting a red is taking attention from Cole Palmer being the worst player on the pitch. He’s always ghosted in big games but my word, he was awful today,” another posted.
One supporter claimed “:Good performance in the second half from everyone (bar Palmer).”
“Can’t be mad at anyone apart from Palmer and Jackson today,” another said.
If there’s one player that can’t be cut some slack, Palmer is that individual. There’s no escaping the fact his form in 2025 has nosedived, though.
He ended an 18-game goal drought last Sunday in the win against Liverpool, but it was another quiet contribution from him against Newcatle.
Noni Madueke claimed Cole Palmer was playing well even when he wasn’t scoring, but that went out the window at St James’ Park.
Cole Palmer stats against Newcastle
The supporters didn’t feel Palmer did enough in the Newcastle defeat, especially in the second period after Jackson’s red card.
Unfortunately, the statistics highlight it was a below-par performance on Sunday.
| Minutes played | Total shots | Chances created | Accurate passes | Successful dribbles | Touches in opposition box | Match rating |
| 90 | 3 | 1 | 37/43 (86%) | 1/4 (25%) | 4 | 6.5 |
It’s not good news that Palmer won’t have Jackson to link up in the remaining league matches because the duo usually strike up a great understanding on the pitch.
Chelsea need Palmer more than ever for next Friday’s home fixture at home to Manchester United.
