How Eddie Howe's tactical mystery helped Newcastle bamboozle Chelsea in race for Champions League

Scottish Sun

12-05-2025

NEWCASTLE boosted their Champions League hopes with victory over Chelsea thanks to Eddie Howe's tactical bamboozle.
Howe insisted that his side's first half performance was "electric" as they went into half time a goal and a man up.
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Eddie Howe masterminded Newcastle's win over Chelsea
Credit: EPA
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The Toon finished with a 2-0 win to boost their Champions League credentials
Credit: AFP
Sandro Tonali fired the Toon ahead before Nicolas Jackson lost his head and was sent off before the break.
Bruno Guimaraes settled the tie with a 90th-minute goal to earn his side three huge points.
Despite the scoreline being a modest 2-0, there was plenty to show that Newcastle were far superior.
1. Quick Sand
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Sandro Tonali's pressing led to Newcastle's opening goal
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He and midfielder Bruno Guimaraes were able to act as strikers
Sandro Tonali embodied Newcastle's high work ethic against the Blues.
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He showed incredible stamina and pace to cover ground in order to press the opposition and put them under pressure.
This helped other press from the front and as a result increased the numbers in the box.
This was evident in Tonali's goal after the ball was won up the pitch.
He and Bruno Guimaraes were then able to act as strikers and get into the box and threaten the goal, from which the Italian scored.
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2. Botman and Rob him
Chelsea found themselves down to ten men after Nicolas Jackson was sent off for an elbow on Sven Botman.
The visitors' front three were up against Newcastle's changed defensive line, which was made up of five players.
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The full-backs Jacob Murphy and Tino Livramento were charged with marking wingers Noni Madueke and Pedro Neto.
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Newcastle's defenders were allowed to push up the pitch to mark Chelsea's midfield
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Dan Burn pressed Cole Palmer deep in the visitors' half
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Sven Botman was able to jump up to deal with Nicolas Jackson
While the three centre-backs Botman, Dan Burn and Fabian Schar could go man for man with Jackson and midfielders Enzo Fernandez and Cole Palmer.
Burn and Schar were allowed to move up the pitch to mark the midfielders in turn, knowing that there would still be a back four behind them.
Botman was marking Jackson, and when he would go, Burn and Schar would become the two central defenders.
Chelsea could not work it out and it was as if the Toon had an extra player on the pitch.
The trigger for the defenders to make their move appeared to be when Chelsea players would put their foot on the ball.
This stopped Enzo Maresca's player from being able to get a foothold in the match.
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Newcastle deployed a back five against the Blues
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Burn could move up to press Palmer
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Fabian Schar was able to do the same to Enzo Fernandez
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Botman could do the same with his team-mates forming a back four behind him
3. Break the box
Chelsea have been playing with a box midfield all season and the Toon were able to break it down.
The tactic uses players such as Palmer who can control the ball and then play it out wide while sucking in the opposition.
Howe's side got into their back five and put three of the midfielders into Chelsea's box.
This would see the likes of Guimaraes and Tonali be joined by one of Harvey Barnes or Anthony Gordon, making it tough for the Blues to progress the ball.
And with the back-five so deep it meant that any longer or more direct ball would be collected by goalkeeper Nick Pope.
The defence was so well connected that it made it almost impossible for Palmer to influence the game.
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Newcastle disrupted Chelsea's box midfield by flooding it with players
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The back five stayed firm and did not allow the Blues to get the ball into space
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Wingers Harvey Barnes and Anthony Gordon would move into the box
4. Change that Toon
The second half showed how Eddie Howe was able to react to Enzo Maresca's changes.
Nick Pope was called into action on a couple of occasions to preserve the Toon's lead.
Chelsea abolished the box shape and went for a line of three, which meant they could dominate possession as Newcastle still had a back five.
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Chelsea abandoned the box midfield in the second half
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Howe changed to a back four to counter the change and return control
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He had to change again to contain the changed role of Moises Caicedo
Howe changed this by moving the formation to a four at the back and a more natural 4-2-3-1 shape.
Maresca countered back by using Moises Caicedo as a midfielder and full-back which saw them return to dominate.
But Howe was able to change the tide again by calling on Emil Kraft and Lewis Miley which bolstered the midfield and stop Caicedo.
5. Palmed off
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Newcastle did a great job of squeezing Cole Palmer away from the goal.
They were able to palm him off and keep him at a safe distance.
If he were to have had a shot, it would have likely been from 35 yards and at that point, they backed Nick Pope to deal with the effort.
Palmer also suffered from the change in tactics as he is more limited than some of Chelsea's other players.
He continued to try to find space in the match but was often stuck in his own half and facing his own goal.
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