Rafa Benitez Claims Newcastle Made Too Many Mistakes in Their Defeat to Chelsea

Rafa Benitez was in for some stick from the home fans when he paid a visit to ex-club Chelsea, even more so when his Newcastle side came away with their tails between their legs after 3-1 defeat.

The Spaniard said that mistakes were at the heart of a disappointing display in which the Magpies actually lead the game 1-0 until around fifteen minutes in.

Speaking about his sides' mistakes, per the Standard, he said: "We made mistakes against good players, with the quality they have, they punish you.

"We were in the game and you never know what can happen at one each, 2-1. A top side played against a team that was giving everything.

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"We knew him (Hazard) really well, it's not just a free role. He has good movements. You cannot control everyone. 

"When he received the ball he can make the difference. We were doing quite well for a while but mistakes made the difference."

Despite calls for Newcastle to return back to their earlier form and defensive solidity in the Premier League season, Benitez will be back to the drawing board to make sure his side can at least keep a clean-sheet against opponents Leicester next weekend.

The Magpies see themselves slip down to 14th in the league standings at the moment and with four losses in their last five Benitez will be desperately chasing after three points next time out.