On Saturday evening, Chelsea were condemned to a 1-0 defeat at home to Newcastle United on match day 30 of the Premier League season. 

This happened despite the visitors having three wins in 14 away games before yesterday, failing to win away from home against the likes of Wolves and West Ham United. 

So, what went wrong? 

The XI felt wrong from the off. What was the point of recalling Mamadou Sarr from a productive loan at Strasbourg if you are not going to play him? There is no way he is worse than either Trevoh Chalobah or Wesley Fofana, who were yet again poor on Saturday. 

People won't want to hear it, but Enzo Fernandez can be an issue in these games. Yes, he chips in with goals and assists. But when you look at his general game, he is not doing enough. 

Especially off the ball. His physical limitations are a serious worry. After the game against PSG, many people pointed to his goal and assist. Few people pointed out that he was consistently outrun by his opponents. 

This was evident again yesterday. Newcastle were able to bully him and win the battles in the middle of the park, despite missing both Bruno Guimaraes, Sandro Tonali, and Joelinton (from the starting XI). 

For the game, Eddie Howe opted for a midfield three of Jacob Ramsey, Joe Willock, and Nick Woltemade. By trade, that is two attacking midfielders and a striker. So there was plenty of space for Chelsea in the central areas. They - mainly Fernandez as the nominal number ten - simply did not take advantage of this. 

Once again, Liam Rosenior's in-game management was poor. The Liam Delap for Malo Gusto sub was a serious red flag. It felt like something you'd do on Football Manager - losing the game, so just bring on a striker for a defender without giving it much thought. 

Sure, Gusto was not having a great game, but it was just an unnecessary change. In the second half, Chelsea had too many attacking players on the pitch and not enough players to progress the ball to them. 

The cameo from Delap was seriously, seriously poor. It is clear that he is just not made out for this level. He's so out of his depth that you almost feel sorry for him. 10 NPG for Ipswich Town should not be enough to make this level of move. It's not his fault.

Although he has played well off the right before, Cole Palmer is a number ten. When Mauricio Pochettino moved him from the right to a central role in the 23/24 season, his NPG numbers improved massively. Get him in those central pockets where he can make things happen.

So, in short: weird team selection, even worse subs, a lack of athleticism, key players not stepping up, and key players not being platformed correctly. 

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