Was Rafa Benitez right to set-up Newcastle United as he did against Chelsea?

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Newcastle United came away from their home fixture against Chelsea feeling unlucky, as a late DeAndre Yedlin own goal gifted the points to the visitors. This followed an earlier penalty award against Fabian Schar that could be classed as harsh.

Although the Magpies came close to securing an impressive point against one of the top-six, the focus after the game was on the tactical set-up of Rafa Benitez.

Newcastle set-up in a 5-4-1 formation and looked to sit deep to frustrate Chelsea. They finished the game with only 19% possession and several pundits were quick to criticise that approach.

Graeme Souness was one of the pundits for the game on Sky Sports and he said the following about Newcastle’s approach:

“If they had done that away from home, I think it would have been more acceptable. If you’re a player, I think you’d rather lose 3-0 having a go than lose the way they lost today. It’s the manager’s prerogative to set his team up the way he wants to play.

“His job is to get the best out of the group of players he is working with. He felt it was the best way today. Inevitably, when you sit that deep, there is going to be a great deal happening around your box. You’re relying on lady luck to be with you that day.”

There can be fair criticism directed at Benitez, but the above doesn’t qualify as that. It is ridiculous to suggest that it would be better to lose a game 3-0 than 2-1, especially considering Newcastle were minutes away from gaining a point.

In addition to that, the Magpies performed very well defensively and restricted the visitors to only 0.8 expected goals. Few teams will manage that this season.

Benitez would have planned to have taken something from the game and that intention was clear. However, the Spaniard plans long-term and he will be aware of how tight the Premier League is going to be this season. Goal difference could play a key role in determining finishing positions. He is making sure that Newcastle fare well in this statistic.

Last season, Newcastle finished in the top ten with a goal difference of -8. Only the top-six, Burnley and Leicester finished the season with a better goal difference. Benitez was justified in his approach against the better teams as it helped his side finish in the top-half, despite their resources being less than many of the teams that finished below them.

It would be brave to suggest Newcastle could repeat last season’s success of finishing in the top-half, as the league is stronger this season. Several clubs have strengthened significantly. Meanwhile, Fulham and Wolves have both been ambitious in their recruitment since promotion.

On the other hand, Newcastle ended the summer transfer window with a net profit of £11 million, according to transfermarkt.co.uk. They didn’t sign a single player for more than £10 million, despite Benitez consistently speaking about the need to add quality to his squad.

After finishing 10^th last term, there was a real opportunity for Newcastle to show ambition and push on. The Magpies have a manager that is capable of challenging for European qualification and domestic trophies. However, they continue to treat him as a relegation fire-fighter, with the only aim being to remain in the Premier League.

Taking this back to the tactical set-up against Chelsea, there is an argument that Benitez doesn’t have the talent available to him to go toe-to-toe with Maurizio Sarri. During the summer, the Blues shelled out £71 million for Kepa Arrizabalaga. The goalkeeper cost more than the entire Newcastle starting eleven on Sunday.

The visitors had the likes of Ross Barkley, Willian and Olivier Giroud available to them from the bench. Benitez didn’t have the luxury of such experienced and proven internationals. The Spaniard also had to deal with the loss of Jamaal Lascelles and Jonjo Shelvey through injury. Moreover, Kenedy was unavailable to play against his parent club.

The task of getting something from the game was daunting and Benitez was the man tasked with the near-impossible task. He almost managed it but has faced lots of criticism for the approach that was used.

Unfortunately for the Premier League, the gap between the top-six and the rest of the division continues to grow. Those criticising Benitez are working for the companies that are responsible for this inequality.

There may be a couple of teams that are able to bridge that gap by spending big in the transfer market. West Ham, Fulham and Wolves have all attempted that this past summer, but there is no guarantee of success.

The convincing beatings being handed out by top-six clubs mean that a defensive approach is emerging as the best way to approach these matches. Benitez took it to an extreme, but he was almost successful, and he will be encouraged to play a similar way against the rest of the top-six.