Chelsea win a ‘perfect way to end season’
JAMAAL Lascelles hailed Newcastle United’s 3-0 victory over Chelsea as the “perfect end” to a “really positive season”.
The Magpies captain believes United’s dismantling of the outgoing Premier League champions was also Newcastle’s best, allround performance of the entire campaign.
A brace from Ayoze Perez and a goal from Dwight Gayle delivered a comfortable win for United, and ensured they ended the season with a 10th-placed finish.
“This was the perfect end to a really positive season,” Lascelles said of United’s 3-0 victory over Chelsea.
“We had a little blip in the four games previously, but we thought as players that we really needed to give something back to the fans, and we did that against Chelsea.
“From the start to finish we were on the front foot, made it hard for them, and we got three points so it’s a fantastic way to finish a memorable season. Any team we play at home, especially on a Sunday in the last game of the season, we’re confident we’ll do a job on them.
“At our place, we always have confidence - and it definitely showed against Chelsea.”
Newcastle have made a bit of a habit of excellent final-game-ofthe-season performances at St James’ Park, with this Chelsea victory following on from the 5-1 demolition of Tottenham Hotspur two years previously, and the 3-0 win over Barnsley which delivered the Championship title in dramatic fashion 12 months ago.
And, despite United heading into the game on the back of four straight defeats, Lascelles was always confident Newcastle could defeat Chelsea.
The United captain insists the Blues simply could not cope with the Magpies’ physicality and highintensity approach:
“We also kept possession, which we haven’t done too much, so I think performance-wise, for me, this was our best performance of the entire season.”