Alan Shearer reacts to ‘pathetic’ decision as Newcastle lose to Chelsea

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Alan Shearer believes Newcastle were unlucky not to get at least a point against Chelsea.

The Magpies lost 1-0, the first time Eddie Howe’s side have tasted defeat since December 19th. It ends an incredible unbeaten run that spanned nine gimes.

But the run really should have gone on. Newcastle absolutely deserved at least a point at Stamford Bridge. However, it was an afternoon where key decisions went against us.

Chelsea’s winner came in the 89th minute, with Kai Havertz latching onto a glorious pass from Jorginho. However, the German forward arguably shouldn’t have been on the pitch.

He was involved in an incident with Dan Burn in the first half, and clearly elbowed the Newcastle defender. It was dangerous from Havertz – he couldn’t have had too many complaints if he’d been sent off.

But VAR did nothing, and allowed Havertz to remain on the pitch. From there, it was inevitable that he would be involved in the game’s defining moment.

Chelsea defeat was ‘very harsh’ on Newcastle

After the game, Shearer reacted to the key moments on Twitter.

He wrote: “Class finish from Havertz. Very harsh on the Toon. Didn’t deserve to come away with nothing. Pathetic pen decision not given.”

Shearer sums it up pretty well. The goal from Havertz was exceptional, but Newcastle didn’t deserve to lose.

Howe’s side played brilliantly once again, defending resolutely against one of the best teams in the country. We also posed an attacking threat at times, pressing Chelsea high up the pitch.

The key moment for Newcastle in the second half was the penalty shout. Jacob Murphy got the better of Trevor Chalobah, who fouled the Newcastle winger not once but twice in the area.

He had a hold of his shirt and he tripped him, but referee David Coote instead awarded the Magpies a corner.

VAR then decided that it wasn’t a clear and obvious error. How does that work? For starters, it wasn’t even a corner, so a clear error was made. Chalobah trips Murphy, and the referee needed to have another look at the incident from a different angle.

It’s laughable that VAR didn’t at least send Coote to the monitor. In fact, it’s embarrassing.

Shearer used ‘pathetic’ to describe the injustice, and he’s right. What’s the point of having VAR if it can’t see that Murphy was clearly fouled?

It was a good performance by Newcastle, who have been completely let down by the officials. But it’s not the first time that’s happened this season.