Newcastle United could not hold out for a point as Chelsea ran out 2-1 winners at St. James’ Park on Sunday, and fans have been quick to criticise summer signing Ki Sung-yueng for a poor display in midfield.
Chelsea took the lead in the second half through a controversial Eden Hazard penalty after Fabian Schar appeared to get the ball in a challenge with Marcos Alonso, but Joselu equalised with a brilliant header soon after.
The Magpies could however not hang on to that leveller as DeAndre Yedlin scored an unfortunate own goal with just three minutes remaining, and fans on Twitter have been slamming 29-year-old Ki for his performance after the game.
This is Futbol have rounded up some of the best tweets:
Is everyone missing the fact that Ki was absolutely awful today? #NUFC
— Jordan Errington (@jordanerrington) August 26, 2018
Thoughts…
Ref was horrible
Rondon got no service
Ki and Diame were a mess
Yedlin was hard done, but got away with an elbow
That wasn’t a damn penalty, Schar got the ball
Chelsea’s XI wage bill is EIGHT times Newcastle’s
Ref was horrible
Miss anything? #NUFC #HTL— John R (@Klamachpin88) August 26, 2018
https://twitter.com/Coryjgraham/status/1033759517375389696
I said when we signed him that Ki was poor – he’s worse than that – a liability with no sense of position or idea on when to press…..and he’s slower than me#nufc
— EastStandFlags (@MichaelGallon) August 26, 2018
I’ve lost count of how many tackles Ki has bottled already. #NUFC
— LANDMINE (@elroncubs) August 26, 2018
https://twitter.com/RmTcse/status/1033739643819311105
KI needs to wake up. Standing and pointing isn’t going to do the job. Get your foot in son! #NUFC
— M (@mpb3012) August 26, 2018
OPINION
These Newcastle fans are not happy with Ki’s performance in midfield, but overall it wasn’t a hugely poor performance from the South Korea international. His passing was on point throughout the game, and while his defensive work did leave a lot to be desired, it wasn’t a bad outing for the midfielder. What the game did however illustrate for the Magpies is how indispensable Jonjo Shelvey is to their hopes, with the loss of the English pass master being a huge blow before the game had even started. Shelvey’s passing range provides Newcastle with so many options, and especially in a game like that against a big team, is their biggest weapon in midfield. Ki’s passing ability is brilliant, but not quite on the same level as Shelvey’s, and the deficiencies in the rest of his game mean that he is likely to play a back-up role this season if Shelvey manages to stay fit after his injury setback.