Howe could be forced into making a huge decision after Tuesday’s EFL Cup defeat away at Chelsea.
Newcastle United has been without a significant domestic prize for 68 years after losing to Premier League struggling team Chelsea on penalties on Tuesday night in the EFL Cup.
Callum Wilson’s goal in the 16th minute gave Eddie Howe’s team the lead following the English center forward’s outstanding solo move. Newcastle had played excellent box defense and only needed to hold onto their lead.
That was until one man mishandled a very easy scenario at the back post in the second minute of stoppage time, giving the Blues a clear path to victory.
Kieran Trippier’s game in numbers
Newcastle United has been without a significant domestic prize for 68 years after losing to Premier League struggling team Chelsea on penalties on Tuesday night in the EFL Cup.
Journalist Harry De Cosemo called Newcastle player Kieran Trippier’s performances “disastrous” lately, saying they haven’t been good. The England international read a pass that Chelsea defender Malo Gusto blasted to the back-post last night.
But for some reason, Trippier tried to head the ball back to his goalie, but the pass was incomplete, letting Mykhailo Mudryk get a shot off that cleared Martin Dubravka’s net.
Trippier has made a number of mistakes in the last few games, including two that gave away a goal against Everton at Goodison Park and several that saw his team concede multiple goals away to Tottenham Hotspur a few days later.
Trippier replaced Emil Krafth at the beginning of the second half at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday night, although Howe could have regretted his choice given the outcome. It’s concerning that the full-back only completed 33% of his passes during the contest. He also only won 33 percent of his ground duels and did not win a single tackle.
In addition, The Daily Mail gave the 33-year-old a 4/10 match rating—which may have even been charitable. Trippier had a terrible night, but maybe it’s time Howe benched him permanently because someone else was willing to take his place.
Emil Krafth’s stats this season
After Trippier moved into St. James’ Park two years ago, Krafth—a product of the previous ownership—started to lose favor. Despite not starting a single Premier League game this season, the Swedish fullback is making £37,000 a week.
Under Howe, the 29-year-old has played in just 217 minutes overall this season and dropped even lower in the rankings after Newcastle signed Tino Livramento for an incredible £40 million.
However, Krafth performed admirably in the first half of yesterday’s away game against Chelsea, earning a 6/10 match rating from The Daily Mail. After the break, the full-back was substituted because he was exhausted from chasing Raheem Sterling all the time. However, given how bad Trippier was, this might have been a mistake.
On the evening, Krafth won 100% of his ground, 67% of his tackles, 57% of his passes were accurate, and he even finished 100% of his crosses.
Before he left, Newcastle had managed to keep the Blues out, so perhaps it makes sense to reward Krafth by giving him his first league start on the road at Luton Town on Saturday.
