Over the years in English Football, a highly competitive Quarter-final clash in the League Cup (Carabao Cup) has been a habitual occurrence and last night fans were given a festive season treat as they witnessed a riveting affair between Chelsea and Newcastle at Stamford Bridge, with Chelsea walking away 4-2 winners on penalties.
In a game filled with errors, the encounter ended in a 1-1 stalemate, with Newcastle taking the lead in the first half through a Callum Wilson goal that culminated from an error from Chelsea’s centre-half, Benoit Badiashile.
As if that was the first and last error that led to a goal, it wouldn’t be a Newcastle United match without a Kieran Trippier error as we’ve come to learn of late, as Mykhailo Mudryk pounced on the experienced Englishmen’s miscontrolled touch to equalise for the Blues in stoppage time Infront of the Matthew Harding Stand.
The game ended with a lottery of the penalty shootout, with Trippier grabbing the headlines again with a poor penalty that went completely off target before Đorđe Petrović saved the last penalty from a sporadic Matt Ritchie.
When asked about Kieran Trippier’s recent run of form, Newcastle Manager, Eddie Howe, stood by his player.
“He is an incredibly strong character as I said many times. He’s a transformative signing, someone who has taken the group on to a totally new level,” the Newcastle manager said. “He’s been the heartbeat of that, so now he’s given us so much, now is our turn to support him and look after him the other way and that’s what we’ll do.”
Trippier has been on a downhill slope since his altercation with the Magpie fans at an away game at Bournemouth which ended in a 2-0 win for the Cherries at the Vitality Stadium. Since then, costly errors against Everton allowed the Toffees to walk away with a 3-0 win at Goodison Park which was followed by a horror show in London when they took on Spurs in a 4-1 drubbing of the Magpies.
With Eddie Howe stating that the 33-year old right-back is a transformative player for the team, it’s quite obvious that the club will do by all means to stand behind one of their leaders. With right-footed Tino Livramento primarily operating on the left side of the defence, Newcastle will probably look to get a suitable replacement for injured left-back Matt Targett in order to have the ever-reliable Livramento replace the out of form Trippier for the time being.
However, Howe still has the services of Dan Burn, who has been a make-shift left back while veteran Paul Dummet is seemingly not good enough to make the starting XI or to come on from the bench.
Howe will have a lot to think about as the season continues to intensify for the Magpies with FA Cup clashes and the congested league schedule on the horizon. It’ll be important for him to get an answer as teams are starting to target the right side of his defence on transition.