It took a Kieran Trippier own goal, the defender deflecting
the ball into the net midway through the first half, to cancel out Anthony
Gordon’s early strike and spare the outgoing coach the ignominy of a ninth
defeat in his 11 games in charge.
Newcastle had already sealed their objective and qualified
for the Champions League, but they had not come to west London to hand Lampard
the consolation of a victory to cap his brief reign, and so played with purpose
and style.
For Chelsea at the end of an awful season, there were at
last flashes of a brighter future with Noni Madueke, Lewis Hall and substitute
Carey Chukwuemeka – none of them older than 21 – the outstanding trio.
Newcastle started the brighter. Allan Saint-Maximin ran at
Trevoh Chalobah and, as the Chelsea defender backed off, slipped it through to
Aleksander Isak, whose low shot was well blocked by the legs of Kepa
Arrizabalaga.
Their opening goal was simple, but Chelsea made it so. A
long ball out from the back was taken deftly on his left foot by Saint-Maximin
who looked up and found Matt Targett overlapping on the left.
Cesar Azpilicueta and Chalobah seemed to leave the threat to
one another to handle, and Targett had time to pick out Gordon, roaming free
inside the six yard box, to tap home unmarked.
Newcastle were playing with the confidence of a side about
to record their best finish in 20 years, and Isak nearly bent in a second
minutes later, his arcing shot dropping just wide of Arrizabalaga’s left-hand
post as Chelsea tottered.
Chelsea’s equaliser was a mix of brilliance from Raheem
Sterling and misfortune for Trippier. Sterling collected the ball from a quick
free-kick on the right of the penalty area and showed fine feet to slip inside
and shoot left-footed low to the back post.
The effort looked to be going wide until a critical
deflection off Trippier who, with help from Fabian Schar on the goalline,
bundled the ball awkwardly with his arm past Martin Dubravka.
Newcastle should have restored their lead late in the half
when Gordon’s header deflected off Hall into the path of Miguel Almiron. The
forward has enjoyed his best season in black and white but could not cap it
here with a goal, his effort instead ballooning high into the Matthew Harding
Stand.
Chelsea, still unable to find the killer ball in the final
third, looked rudderless in the first half.
Madueke tried to take matters into his own hands with a
decent run and shot coming on off the right, but the strike dropped straight
into Dubravka’s arms, before Almiron found himself in space again inside the
box and produced a good, stretching save from Arrizabalaga.
The hosts were finishing the half the stronger. Hall’s
deflected cross was met by Sterling, forcing Dubravka into a spectacular
leaping save to his right, before Targett booted off the line from the England
forward’s follow-up.
The final weeks of Chelsea’s campaign have largely been
about looking for signs of promise among a squad whose confidence has been
rocked, and Madueke gave a glimpsing reason for optimism when he cut from the
right touchline and went close with a rocket shot early in the second half.
The January signing from PSV Eindhoven has started to find
form after struggling for a place early in his Chelsea career.
Hall too at left-back has enjoyed a breakthrough year, and
he went close with a shot that flew narrowly over the top after clever footwork
to find space. It was his cutback 20 minutes from time that found Sterling free
inside the box to shoot off target, that after fine work from the substitute Chukwuemeka
who drove at Newcastle with purpose.
Sterling shot wide late on after the excellent Madueke had
run the ball to the byline and crossed. Chelsea wanted a penalty for handball
against Dan Burn but VAR ruled no infringement.
At the other end 17-year-old debutant Lewis Miley, on as a
substitute, clipped the crossbar with a crisp drive from outside the box.
Joao Felix headed over with virtually the final action,
perhaps a final touch in blue for the loan signing from Atletico Madrid.
But Chelsea could not find a home victory to send their
outgoing manager off with. The rebuilding job starts here.
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