Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri has admitted that his side’s problems in front of goal must be addressed against Newcastle today.
The Blues dominated the second half of their Carabao Cup semi-final first leg defeat against Tottenham in midweek but were unable to find the net.
It was the second game in succession they failed to score, meaning a clean sheet for Newcastle at Stamford Bridge would see Chelsea go three matches without scoring for the first time since 1996.
“We need to score, of course. We need to solve this problem,” Sarri said at a press conference ahead of the game.
“In the last match I think we played very well, with continuity, with a very good offensive phase and defensive phase, with a great performance from a physical point of view – the best of the season.
“But we didn’t score and so we now we have this problem and we have to work and try to solve it as soon as possible.”
Newcastle have endured a difficult season under former Chelsea interim boss Rafael Benitez but Sarri says his players can expect a difficult game.
“The match is very difficult because they are doing better away,” he said.
“They lost eight matches out of 11 at home but only three out of 10 away, so it’s a difficult opponent.”