Newcastle United were beaten on the road yet again in the Premier League on Monday night.
Despite Jacob Murphy’s late thunderbolt setting up a grandstand finish, Chelsea ran out 3-2 winners at Stamford Bridge.
That now makes it 32 goals conceded on the road this season for Eddie Howe and his side. Only Bournemouth, Luton and Sheffield United have let in more away from home in the Premier League this season.
The Newcastle defence is leaking right now and players who performed so well last season are failing to live up to those standards.
Sven Botman is undoubtedly one of those.
Sven Botman: Gary Neville critical of Newcastle star’s performance vs Chelsea
Indeed, the Blues opened the scoring through Nicolas Jackson within six minutes at Stamford Bridge.
It sprang from Botman making a poor clearance when cutting Malo Gusto’s driven cross out, finding only Cole Palmer with his attempt.
The Chelsea forward’s shot then dribbled over to Jackson, who improvised well to beat Martin Dubravka.
Speaking on Sky Sports, pundit Gary Neville said: “It’s scruffy. It’s a poor clearance from Botman – he has to do a lot better than that.”
Sven Botman: Newcastle star underperforming
Botman is judged at a high standard after proving so good during his first season in the Premier League following a £35m move from Lille.
While a serious injury sustained earlier this season perhaps explains why he’s dipped below that, the Dutchman was equally criticised for his performance against Arsenal last month too.
Those behind the scenes are believed to think Botman could do with more time on the training field as he looks to build up his sharpness.
Given the manner of his performances of late, perhaps bringing Jamaal Lascelles back into the team would do both some good.
Botman is young enough to come through this dip but, right now, it’s difficult to see why he’s in the team over Lascelles.
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