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Roberto Di Matteo is unconvinced Toon hero Papiss Cisse knew what he was doing in bagging a brace to sink Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
Side struggled for rhythm, says Chelsea interim manager
Roberto Di Matteo is unconvinced Toon hero Papiss Cisse knew what he was doing in bagging a brace to sink Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
The Senegal forward opened the scoring with an impressive left-footed strike but saved his best for stoppage time when he swerved a stupendous second past Petr Cech with the outside of his right boot.
The 2-0 defeat was tough on Chelsea given their dominance of the second half but the Chelsea boss puts it down to a slow start - and Cisse's astonishing finishing.
"I don't think we ever got going, especially in the first half," said Di Matteo.
"Cisse has had two shots and scored both goals.
"I don't think he even knew what he was doing. It was a really strange shot and it went in at the far post.
"But the striker Cisse at the moment is very hot and everything he touches seems to go in."
Chelsea had their moments with John Terry having a header cleared off the line by Davide Santon from substitute Juan Mata's second-half corner.
But overall it was a lethargic display from the Blues as they probed without ever seeming to have the cutting edge, despite the presence of Didier Drogba alongside Fernando Torres late on.
And Di Matteo believes Chelsea's punishing schedule played its part, as they continue to compete in three competitions.
He added: "It was a difficult game for us tonight, especially in the first half, the tempo wasn't quite high enough for our play and they did well. Credit to Newcastle.
"It's our sixth game in 17 days but we keep pushing.
"It just looked like we never got into our rhythm tonight."
