‘I just didn’t see’… Eddie Howe shares what Chelsea did which shocked him last night

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Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe says he did not see Chelsea’s goal against his side last night coming.

Mykhailo Mudryk scored right at the very end of the Carabao Cup quarter-final tie between the two Premier League teams to send the game to penalties.

And Eddie Howe, speaking to NUFC TV, has admitted that he did not think Chelsea would equalise.

The Magpies took the lead in the first half and managed to hold on to their lead for most of the match thanks to some solid defending. But an error by Kieran Trippier gave Mudryk an opportunity to slot the ball into Martin Dubravka’s bottom corner.

Eddie Howe surprised by Chelsea goal

With Newcastle keeping their shape and defending so well, Howe did not expect Chelsea to score.

On the late goal his side conceded, the 46-year-old said: “Our defensive positioning first, covering space, and individual duels, battles, I thought we were really good. I thought we were a real counter threat in the first half, which was great to see, we lost that threat in the second half. But as we fatigued a bit and lost our legs slightly but then we sort of accepted our role and I thought we were going to see the game through.

“I couldn’t see them scoring in that moment. I just didn’t see a goal coming for them, we looked comfortable and it looked like we had absorbed most their threats. They had change things but it didn’t really change the flow of the game. The goal is just one of those things that can happen on a football pitch because there are moments and things that happen.”

Mykhailo Mudryk’s equaliser for Chelsea a surprise

Howe would not have been the only person at Stamford Bridge shocked to have seen Chelsea score. Some Blues supporters would have undoubtedly felt the same.

You can think of more than one occasion this season where Mauricio Pochettino‘s side have really struggled to break down a deep block. For example, their 0-0 draw with Bournemouth and 2-0 defeat to west London rivals Brentford.

It is a surprise Chelsea fans will obviously be happy about, though, and hopefully the team can get better at dismantling really low defences.

The Blues are not the team they once were, but plenty of sides are still showing them so much respect by defending so deep. Pochettino needs to find a way to beat this kind of opposition.