What Romeo Lavia did after Chelsea loss shows his true colours in Nicolas Jackson controversy

Romeo Lavia has held himself accountable for Chelsea's 2-0 loss to Newcastle United on Sunday. The midfielder was at fault for losing the ball during a blistering start from the home side.

Sandro Tonali volleyed in at the back post after less than 120 seconds at St James' Park, putting Newcastle on their way to a win which sees them now on the brink of securing a place in the top five. Chelsea, on the other hand, know that anything but two wins from their remaining two games will leave them open to dropping out of the Champions League places.

Six points from matches against Manchester United (at Stamford Bridge on Friday) and then Nottingham Forest (away at the City Ground on Sunday, May 25) will almost certainly be enough for Enzo Maresca's side. Aston Villa could still match their points tally but have a 12-goal swing to overhaul.

For Chelsea it makes the equation a simple one with no room for error. Any leeway generated by beating Liverpool last weekend has now been wiped out and an already tricky game on paper was made even harder after Newcastle's early opener.

Lavia was robbed of the ball by Tonali on the edge of his own box before a swift three-pass sequence, shifting the ball across to the right, led to a goal on the left at the back post just moments later. Chelsea would then play for more than an hour with 10 men after Nicolas Jackson's red card for an elbow on Sven Botman.

Despite the man advantage, Newcastle struggled to keep up their dominance from the first half and allowed Chelsea much more of the ball. Owing to Maresca's tactical tweaks after the break, Chelsea brought themselves back into a game which had passed them by completely for 45 minutes.

Enzo Fernandez, Marc Cucurella, and Reece James had chances to get an equaliser before Bruno Guimaraes' deflected effort late on wrapped things up. The defeat now puts Chelsea in a three-way battle with Forest (who drew to Leicester City) and Villa. Only one of the teams is likely to get into the Champions League unless Manchester City and Newcastle both collapse in the final fortnight.

The impact of this game remains to be seen. Chelsea have missed an opportunity to create a gap with their rivals, failing to take advantage of City's draw to Southampton on Saturday. Maybe the bigger problem will be losing Jackson and their only senior striker for the last two games. When he was out through injury the team seriously struggled for attacking bite, especially against those not in the relegation zone.

When walking off after the red card, Jackson put his head into his shirt and was not greeted by anyone from the bench. Maresca essentially blanked him and said afterwards that he had not spoken to Jackson and would not until Monday.

The Chelsea players on the pitch responded poorly as well, perhaps believing that Botman had made the most of the incident and the reaction of the crowd or Newcastle players had influenced John Brooks. They promised to flare up, pushing and shoving the black and white shirts whilst Cole Palmer, Fernandez, and Levi Colwill all lost their cool.

It was a teamwide thing that saw Chelsea struggle for the opening 35 minutes before the red card and even some of the tactics to kick long to Jackson might have played a part in his frustration leading up to the elbow. However, it is Lavia who has taken responsibility for the result.

"On me. See you Friday [blue heart emoji]," he wrote on his Instagram story on Sunday night. Jackson is yet to post anything which has received a split verdict from supporters. Many are unhappy that he has not owned up to his mistake, using it as a stick to beat him with after a tough 2025. Others believe that Jackson is instead looking to shield himself from criticism by staying offline.

When asked about the red card, Maresca admitted that it "affected the game, no doubt," adding that "the only thing I can say is that sometimes it’s too easy to take some decision in some stadiums. If the referee decides for red it’s a red.”

He continued: “I didn't speak to Nico, it's not the moment. We will speak in the next day. No doubt he has to learn from it, especially at this stage of the season where we have two more games. You have to avoid this kind of thing.”

Cucurella also revealed that Jackson had remained quiet with his teammates afterwards. "He didn’t say anything," the left-back explained at full-time. "I think he’s a bit upset. He wants to help the team but these things happen. Maybe with 11 players all the game maybe we can do the comeback. Things can happen."

The most telling thing here for Chelsea is to get back to business against United next up. Dwelling on this result or Jackson will only distract from what is still a completely salvageable position. Chelsea hold the keys to their own destiny and Lavia will be central to Chelsea's hopes of getting the desired six points left on the table.

Jackson's own personal plight is another story for now. He will be hurting not only after letting his team down in a big game but also because he cannot effect the rest of the season. There are wider narratives around his position in the squad and his ability that will no doubt be debated as well.

His social media activity does not need to be poured over, though. Jackson has been racially abused online before and has noticeably changed his profile picture to a black circle rather than an image of himself. He may well be fearing the outcome of this moment, and who can blame him.

Apologies on Instagram have become almost comical at times with players apologising in agony over missed penalties and costing their team points. That is ridiculed as much as respected by a lot of supporters. The response to players on social media after a defeat is often fitted to a desired narrative.

If Jackson does post then some will say it is a cheap gesture, looking for attention, and is a hollow action. If he doesn't then he is blamed for lacking accountability and for not caring. It is a lose-lose scenario when there are bigger issues at play for Chelsea.

Jackson will be aware of that and now his teammates need to get behind him as the whole group go again with just one thing on their mind. Lavia has shown that mindset and now the rest will have to follow.

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