6 Things We Learned from Chelsea's 3-2 Loss to Newcastle

On Saturday, Chelsea went into St, James' Park expecting to defeat Newcastle United. 

However, after the final whistle blew the Blues were left disappointed that they could not come out of Tyneside with a single point.

After going ahead in the second half through goals by Frank Lampard and Juan Mata, the Blues lost the lead after Moussa Sissoko scored twice in the final 22 minutes for the home side.

Here are six things that we learned from the pulsating five-goal thriller between Chelsea and Newcastle. 

Chelsea Did Not Learn from the Reading Match

After giving up two late goals at Reading on Wednesday, Rafa Benitez knew his club had to do better in the defensive half toward the end of the match.

However, that concept was not applied during the final minutes of Saturday's match. 

After going ahead in the 61st minute, the Blues gave up two goals to Newcastle's new signing Moussa Sissoko. 

Sissoko's first goal came on a counter attack after Petr Cech saved a shot by Yoan Gouffran. 

On the second goal, Sissoko was given a small amount of space to shoot and he took advantage of it. 

Chelsea's defense showed plenty of lapses against Newcastle and the two second-half goals by the Magpies showed that the Blues still have plenty to work on in the back four. 

Howard Webb Left Himself Open for Plenty of Criticism

Whenever Howard Webb referees a match there seems to be plenty of controversy.

Saturday's match was no different as Webb's decisions were criticized throughout the match. 

The first controversial call came in the 30th minute when Ramires earned just a yellow card for a two-footed tackle. 

Just two minutes later, Demba Ba received a kick to the face by way of Fabricio Coloccini—a play that should have resulted in a penalty, but it was not called by Webb. 

Webb was very lenient during the entire match and his lack of calls frustrated both Rafa Benitez and Alan Pardew toward the end of the match.

One call that Webb did get correct came at the end of the match when the Chelsea players called for a penalty on a shot by Frank Lampard.

On that shot, there was no evidence of a handball by the Newcastle defenders, something that the Blues adamantly argued against. 

Neither Chelsea Forward Had an Impact on the Match

Rafa Benitez decided to start Demba Ba up front over Fernando Torres in the 4-2-3-1 formation.

Torres was forced to come into the match in the 42nd minute when Ba could not continue after suffering a a broken nose. 

In his time on the pitch, Ba only had two chances on goal, both of which came during the sequence in which he was kicked in the face by Fabricio Coloccini. 

As for Torres, he was nonexistent for his time on the pitch. 

With Torres on the pitch, the players in the midfield for Chelsea excelled but nothing much was done by the Spaniard, who failed to get a shot on goal. 

Frank Lampard Is Thriving Despite His Uncertain Future

Frank Lampard showed once again that he is the true leader of Chelsea with his performance on Saturday. 

Lampard brought the Blues back into the match with his 55th-minute equalizer that was stunning, to say the least.

With the goal, Lampard became the first player in EPL history to score 10 goals in 10 consecutive seasons. 

Throughout the rest of the second half, Lampard played with plenty of heart and almost earned a point for the Blues at the end of the match, but his shot was blocked by the Newcastle defense. 

Lampard led Chelsea on Saturday with the most shots on goal (six) and the most touches (79). 

His performance against Newcastle once again proved that Lampard deserves to finish his career at Stamford Bridge instead of not being offered a new contract and leaving this summer. 

Depth Is a Problem at the Moment for Chelsea

While most managers would bring on a substitute to provide a spark in the second half of a big match, Rafa Benitez did not do that because of his depth problem at the moment. 

The only substitute that Benitez used on Saturday was Fernando Torres in the 42nd minute, a move that was forced because of Demba Ba's injury. 

With David Luiz out injured, Eden Hazard suspended and John Obi Mikel and Victor Moses out on international duty at the African Cup of Nations, Benitez was left the likes of Marko Marin and Yossi Benayoun on the bench. 

It is clear that the Blues needed someone to provide a spark toward the end of the second half, but Benitez did not have a player he could trust on the bench. 

If Hazard or Moses were available on the bench, Benitez most likely would have used either player and the match could have ended differently. 

Moussa Sissoko Will End Up Being the Best Buy from the January Transfer Window

For the second straight match, Moussa Sissoko proved why he was wanted by Newcastle during the January transfer window.

Sissoko had an impressive debut against Aston Villa on Tuesday, and he topped that performance with his showing at home against Chelsea on Saturday.

The 23-year-old midfielder was an absolute workhorse for the Magpies.

Sissoko took advantage of a rebound in the 68th minute to score the equalizing goal.

Twenty-two minutes later, the Frenchman found a pocket of space in the penalty area and netted the winning goal. 

If his brilliant performances continue for the Magpies, Sissoko could rival Swansea's Michu as the signing of the season. 

What did you take away from the Newcastle-Chelsea match?

Comment below or leave a comment for me on Twitter, @JTansey90.