Chelsea had captain Reece James sent off in a 4-1 defeat to Newcastle United in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon.
The two teams were level at the interval, with Raheem Sterling’s excellent free kick cancelling out an opener from Alexander Isak, but Newcastle netted three times without reply in the second period to secure all three points.
The result has seen Eddie Howe’s side move into sixth position in the Premier League table, three points behind fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur, while Chelsea sit 10th, collecting just 16 points from their first 13 matches.
After a lively start, the game’s first attempt arrived in the ninth minute, and it came from Conor Gallagher, who smashed one wide of the post from a narrowing angle under pressure from Kieran Trippier.
Newcastle managed to make the breakthrough in the 13th minute of the match, though, with Isak firing the ball past Chelsea goalkeeper Robert Sanchez after collecting a pass from Lewis Miley.
Isak showed excellent feet to gather the clever assist from Miley, and he then demonstrated excellent composure to pick out the far corner as he faced up to the away side’s goalkeeper.
Chelsea were only behind for 10 minutes, though, as Sterling found the back of the net with a brilliant free kick, which gave Newcastle goalkeeper Nick Pope no chance to keep it out.
The home side should have regained the lead in the 26th minute through Joelinton, but the Brazilian somehow headed a Trippier corner wide of the post from close range.
Pope then did brilliantly to turn an Enzo Fernandez strike around the post in the 31st minute, before Gallagher smashed one wide of the target after working space in a dangerous area.
Newcastle then hit the crossbar late in the first period, with a brilliant free kick from Trippier rattling against the woodwork with Sanchez struggling to get across.
The Magpies were back ahead on the hour, though, with Jamaal Lascelles meeting a brilliant cross from Anthony Gordon to make it 2-1 to Howe’s side.
Less than a minute later, Newcastle scored again, with Joelinton racing into the Chelsea box and finishing past Sanchez after a mistake from Thiago Silva, who had taken a heavy touch in a dangerous position.
It went from bad to worse for Chelsea in the 73rd minute, with their captain James being sent off for fouling Gordon when he was already on a yellow card.
Newcastle had a chance to score a fourth in the 76th minute after smart work from Fabian Schar, but the defender’s effort brought a smart save from Sanchez.
The hosts did make it 4-1 in the 83rd minute, though, with Gordon, who caused Chelsea problems throughout the match, racing onto a pass from Miguel Almiron before making the space and picking out the bottom corner, with the goal rounding off a miserable afternoon for the visitors.
Newcastle will now switch their attention to the Champions League, facing a huge game away to Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday, before returning to league action at home to Manchester United next Saturday.
Chelsea, meanwhile, will be bidding to bounce back from their latest disappointing result in the league when they host Brighton & Hove Albion next Sunday.
