Chelsea player ratings vs Newcastle as two get 4/10 after Jackson nightmare and Palmer ghosts

Chelsea fell to a 2-0 defeat to Newcastle United after playing more than hour with 10-men at St James' Park. The loss deals a huge blow to their hopes of securing Champions League football.

Despite weathering a storm, Chelsea were never able to hit full flow from there on.

The chances of Enzo Maresca's side mounting a comeback always looked slim after 35 minutes when Nicolas Jackson saw red. An initial yellow card was overturned after a VAR review following his elbow on Sven Botman.

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Chelsea did start to ask more questions of Newcastle after the break as the home crowd grew nervous at the prospect of dropping points given the circumstances. Chelsea huffed and puffed, holding the ball well without having a focal point to finish it off.

Bruno Guimaraes' deflected effort late on sealed the points. In the end, it is a loss which leaves no margin for error in the last two matches.

Here, football.london looks at the performance of every individual player for Chelsea.

Robert Sanchez - Couldn't do anything to stop Tonali's goal but his direct passes to Jackson were not working and set Newcastle up for several attacks. Not convincing when coming out to stop Alexander Isak or Anthony Gordon late on in the first half. Did well to beat Harvey Barnes to a ball when sweeping up after nearly clashing with Colwill. 5

Moises Caicedo - Not back in position to defend against Tonali after challenging Gordon and given a tough time in defence. More involved after half-time as he tried to drive forward, carrying Chelsea once more. 7

Trevoh Chalobah - Chelsea's best defender again. Made a big tackle to stop Barnes from getting a free shot away and had plenty of clearances to make as Chelsea clung on at times. 6

Levi Colwill - Played some wayward long balls as Chelsea invited pressure onto themselves. Tried to be physical with Isak and managed to limit the Newcastle frontman. Produced a brilliant tackle to also deny Barnes as Newcastle pushed for a second goal. 6

Marc Cucurella - Put in a few crosses but was left with nobody to aim at with Jackson off. Forced a good save from Nick Pope with a strong shot to the bottom corner. Often the most threatening Chelsea player after half-time. 6

Romeo Lavia - Lost the ball on the edge of his own box for Tonali's goal, caught out where he's been so good of late. Unable to stop a much more aggressive midfield from cutting through in the first half but did impose himself a bit more after the break. 5

Enzo Fernandez - A long way from having the same positive impact he managed against Liverpool. Rarely getting beyond the halfway line or offering anything inventive. 6

Pedro Neto - Ineffective against Murphy, who was out of position at wing-back, and often doubled up on by Gordon as well. Didn't have much success against Burn either despite the pace advantage. 5

Cole Palmer - Came increasingly deep to pick up the ball but wasn't able to create. Cut a frustrated figure as he was forced to track Gordon. Didn't have the same flair as he managed last week. 4

Noni Madueke - Saw very little of the ball and did even less with it. Shut out by Livramento and taken off at half-time as Maresca shuffled the pack to accommodate for Jackson's red card. 4

Nicolas Jackson - An absolute horror show from the striker. Struggled against three centre-backs and gradually got more and more annoyed with the long balls played in to him. Won't play again this season in the league and could cost Chelsea big time. 2

Substitutes:

Reece James (On for Madueke, 45') - Back in a more orthodox defensive position, he asserted himself well to shrug off Gordon and got to grips with the game. Put in a nice cross from the right but had no striker to find. Should have tested Pope with Chelsea's best chance late on. 6

Jadon Sancho (On for Lavia, 74') - Didn't have time to get impact things. N/A

Malo Gusto (On for Chalobah, 74') - Made a good block and crossed nicely for James but not on the field long enough for a rating. N/A