Newcastle 1-2 Chelsea – Player Ratings

Chelsea beat Newcastle 2-1 in an exciting game at St James’ Park.

The first half was a tense affair, with Chelsea dominating the game and Newcastle threatening on the counter.

In the second period Chelsea ramped up their possession even more, but it was to no avail as the black and white wall held firm.

In the end it was a surge from Marcos Alonso – who else – that got Chelsea into the lead, as he was fouled for a penalty that Eden Hazard converted.

That wasn’t the end of the story though, as Newcastle attacked down the other end and scored a cheap header after some soft defending form David Luiz.

But when all hope seemed lost, it was Alonso who found himself free in the box once again to hit a right footed effort that DeAndre Yedlin deflected into his own net.

Here are our ratings from today’s featured Chelsea players…

Starting Eleven:

Kepa Arrizabalaga – 6 – Untested and then beaten by a great header.

Cesar Azpilicueta – 6 – Great defensive header from a dangerous free kick after half an hour. Otherwise untroubled.

David Luiz – 5 – Wasn’t tested all game as Chelsea dominated the ball, and was then totally flat footed as Joselu stormed in ahead of him to score. It was one moment, but it was a decisive one when we needed him to do better.

Antonio Rudiger- 6 – Solid at the back and made a couple of great long passes and a screamer that hit the bar.

Marcos Alonso – 8 – What more can you say? Made both goals, earned us all three points. Invaluable.

Jorginho – 7 – Racked up 50 passes within half an hour as he controlled the match, and nipped in with some smart tackles too. Another masterful controlling performance in midfield.

N’Golo Kante- 6 – Got into the box and the channels a huge amount in his new more attacking role, although he’s not really in his element there.

Mateo Kovacic – 6 – Not as sparkling as his first half an hour in a Blue shirt but looked quality once again and will only get better as he settles in and gets fitter.

Pedro – 6 – Had a great chance to open the scoring but spurned it. Looks very suited to this system.

Alvaro Morata – 5 – A couple of nice touches but still doesn’t look to be ready to lead the line for a top side.

Eden Hazard – 7 – Took a knock in the first half as he was persistently targeted but still managed to produce some sparkling play. Kept that up in the second half and then belted home the penalty to give the Blues the lead.

Substitutes:

Willian – 6 – Added some threat when he came on.

Ross Barkley – 6 – Didn’t have time to do much.

Olivier Giroud- 6 – Looks a bigger threat up front than Morata despite his lack of mobility.

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