Despite all the pre-match optimism for the Blues, they suffered a heavy 4-1 away defeat at Newcastle.

On top of the result, Chelsea captain Reece James was shown a late red card for two bookings. Chris Waddle described James as “silly” after his dismissal, as quoted by BBC Sport.

Thiago Silva apology

Chelsea centre-back Thiago Silva, 39, was the first player to publicly speak out following the Newcastle result.

The veteran £110,000-a-week (Spotrac) defender apologised after the display this weekend.

Silva wrote on Instagram: “I’m devastated. It wasn’t a good day for us. I would like to apologise to everyone for the defeat, especially to my teammates who believe in me and support me every day. I take full responsibility. Let’s gather strength and come back stronger.”

In fairness, Silva had a rare off-day with his own individual performance. He lost possession and gifted Joelinton his goal to make it 3-1 during the second-half, which ended the game as a contest.

We think it’s fair to say he’s the one player in the squad you can allow some slack for a below par display.

Chelsea defence

We’re very interested to see what the backline looks like next Sunday versus Brighton.

James and Marc Cucurella started at Newcastle, but both will be suspended next weekend. Meanwhile, Silva and Benoit Badiashile both struggled on Tyneside.

If Blues head coach Mauricio Pochettino wants to make wholesale changes at the back, he’s got the options in the squad. We definitely think that the likes of Levi Colwill and Axel Disasi will be knocking on the manager’s door asking for a recall to the XI.

There needs to be a big improvement after conceding eight goals in the previous two league fixtures.