Chelsea were left with plenty of questions after a dismal 4-1 defeat against Newcastle United with Mauricio Pochettino left very angry and disappointed with his team
It was a dire day for Chelsea on Saturday as they made the trip to Newcastle only to head back home with no points and little to take from their display following a 4-1 defeat. Mauricio Pochettino labelled his team 'soft' and described their outings as the worst of the season, having watched on from the stands.

The Blues had remained in the match, albeit with neither side playing well, thanks to an exquisite Raheem Sterling free kick following Alexander Isak's opener. Despite a poor performance, the west London side perhaps even looked as if they might take advantage come the second half given the severity of Newcastle's injury problems and the youth they had to rely upon on the bench.
However, they could not respond when adversity hit on the hour mark. Jamaal Lascelles first won a free header to nod the home side ahead once more and within a minute, Joelinton had capitalised on a mistake from Thiago Silva to double their advantage.

From that point onwards, the Blues looked more likely to earn a yellow card than score a goal. Reece James picked up his second of the match to leave Chelsea with 10 men and end the game as a true contest.
Discipline

This season has shown a worrying trend for Chelsea picking up yellow cards. Nicolas Jackson leads the ranks and has perhaps taken the headlines with his seven cautions already this season, but the Blues have formed a pattern of getting in the referee's bad books.
Against the Magpies, Marc Cucurella picked up his fifth booking of the season, while Raheem Sterling, Levi Colwill and Lesley Ugochukwu each added a caution in addition to James' double. Two of those were for simply kicking the ball away, with James' first being for such an action, while Sterling put himself in touching distance of a ban for his indiscretion.
Ill-discipline was not simply confined to those moments however, as James struggled to keep his composure in the opening half. There is some understanding for the defender's position having been floored by a stray arm from Joelinton.

However, in his recovery, after making his case to the referee, he soon took issue with Newcastle's bench and in particular Jason Tindall. Thiago Silva, who was in the vicinity after James had been fouled, attempt to calm his captain, who would not break his gaze from the Magpies coaching staff. The 23-year-old appeared to tell Tindall to sit down, as Silva did his best to refocus his teammate. James' frustrated free kick immediately found a nearby body and almost cost Chelsea at a point they were still in the match.

With Pochettino watching on from the stands having recorded three yellow cards this season and Jesus Perez having been shown red earlier this term, the Blues need a collective effort to show the maturity Chelsea's head coach wants to see.