Chelsea manager Frank Lampard was left frustrated by a “sucker punch” as his side suffered a stoppage-time defeat to Newcastle at St James’ Park on Saturday.
Issac Hayden scored a 94th-minute header to snatch a stunning 1-0 win over Chelsea, earning Newcastle their first Premier League victory of 2020.
A well-drilled Newcastle side kept Chelsea who had 70 percent of the possession and 19 shots but at bay and completed the ultimate smash-and-grab with 30 seconds to play as Hayden glanced an Allan Saint-Maximin cross home to send St James’ Park into raptures.
Speaking to Sky Sports after the match, Lampard said: “At 0-0 I was going to say to them that they gave everything because they pushed and pushed.
“It’s football so you have to get your head around it very quickly. I am not a big one for stats but the feel of the game was domination.
“They had three headers in the game and one of them they scored with. Other than that, in the second half I don’t really remember them endangering our box.
“We camped around their box, created chances. You won’t always create clear-cut chances against Newcastle because they have so many bodies back behind the ball and fair play to them because they defend with everything.
“We know we have problems at the top end of the pitch because we don’t get enough front-line goals if we want to bridge the gap. That’s something we have seen a lot this season at home and today was like a home game.
“If you don’t score you are always liable for a sucker punch and we got it.”
