Just three days after Chelsea’s 1-0 win over Swansea City, the Londoners were back in Premier League action hosting Newcastle United at Stamford Bridge. Former Blues boss Rafael Benitez put up a good fight with his side, but the hosts came out on top in the end.
Dwight Gayle opened the scoring for Newcastle after some very poor piece of defending from Chelsea, but Eden Hazard brought the hosts back into the game with Alvaro Morata completing the first-half come-back with a powerful header. The Belgian got another to his name from the spot, as Chelsea eased out to a comfortable 3-1 victory.
Here are our Chelsea players’ ratings from the game:
Starting Eleven:
Thibaut Courtois – 6 – Hadn’t too much to do apart from the goal which he wasn’t able to react to just as quickly as needed. Was very calm and accurate when playing out from the back.
Cesar Azpilicueta – 7 – Good display from today’s skipper. His long ball towards Morata led us to our opening goal, and he wasn’t bad at all on overall.
Andreas Christensen – 8 – Another superb performance that simply puts more and more pressure on currently sidelined David Luiz. Hit the post with a great header and caused plenty of threat to the Newcastle defence with his storming runs forward.
Antonio Rudiger – 7 – Brilliant in the air. Very solid performance overall.
Victor Moses – 9 – Might still be lacking some match sharpness following his major injury, but really reminded us of who we’ve been missing in our recent games. The Nigerian wing-back made some brilliant runs forward and earns all the credit for his sweet cross for Morata’s 2-1 goal. Earned a penalty as well which Hazard beautifully chipped in for Chelsea’s third. Very strong comeback performance!
N’Golo Kante – 8 – Yet another great display. Created a few good chances with his crosses as well.
Danny Drinkwater – 7 – Good game from the English international. Showed some vital determination with his tackling and resumed to push forward like he did against Liverpool. Almost assisted Hazard with a cheeky one-two with the forward.
Cesc Fabregas – 8 – Was once again connecting brilliantly with Hazard and Morata, as his long balls over the top caused constant havoc to the Newcastle defence. Unlucky not the get an assist for his through ball for Hazard, who had his effort saved by the keeper. Got two-footed by the ref – fortunately he escaped the challenge without an injury.
Marcos Alonso – 5 – Was at fault for Newcastle’s shock opener, as he nodded the ball towards his own goal right onto the opposition’s running path. Not his best performance, but did enough.
Alvaro Morata – 8 – Strong game from the Spaniard, who really loves scoring at the Bridge – especially with his head! Had many challenges ruled against him by the ref, but whenever he was able to stand up and play, the Newcastle defence was shaking before him. 10 goals to his name now this term!
Eden Hazard – 9 – MOTM – He was everywhere today. It’s hard to find words for such an impressive display, as the Belgian was simply magical. Only reason he’s not rewarded with a 10/10 is the fact that he could’ve scored at least one more. Fabregas, Drinkwater for example gave him the chance to his second hat-trick against Newcastle, but luck was not completely on his side. Nevertheless, he was deservedly named as today’s man of the match.
Substitutes:
Willian – 6 – Was given a quick ten-minute cameo as Hazard came off to get some rest ahead of a tricky week. Didn’t have time to do much in the remaining minutes.
Tiemoue Bakayoko – 6 – After getting benched for two successive games, Bakayoko was also handed a quick apperance. Calm, secure display.
Gary Cahill – 6 – Didn’t have much time to affect the game after replacing Christensen five minutes before full-time, but did well to run down Murphy in a Newcastle counter.
