Chelsea entertained Newcastle United at Stamford Bridge earlier this evening looking to consolidate their place in the Premier League’s top 4. The Pensioners began the match on the offensive and took the lead in the 9th minute courtesy of Pedro’s clinical finish. However, the Magpies refused to give up and scored the equaliser just before half-time through Ciaran Clark’s powerful header.
Maurizio Sarri’s men pushed on in the second half and regained their lead in the 57th minute through Willian’s superb curler. Newcastle fought hard but couldn’t find a way back into the game as the match finished 2-1 in favour of the home side.
Let’s take a look at how each Chelsea player fared during the match against the Magpies.
GK: Kepa Arrizabalaga – 6/10
He was largely untroubled by the Newcastle attackers but did make a couple of good saves in the second half.
RB: César Azpilicueta – 6/10
The Spaniard was defensively sound but did not create much going forward. His crosses into the box often lacked accuracy which will disappoint him.
CB: Antonio Rüdiger – 7/10
The German centre-back commanded his box well and didn’t give the Magpies attackers a sniff at goal.
CB: David Luiz – 6/10
The Brazilian played a brilliant pass to set up Pedro who scored the opening goal of the contest. However, he failed to mark Ciaran Clark properly who scored the equaliser for Newcastle with an emphatic header just before the half-time break.
LB: Marcos Alonso – 5/10
The Spanish full-back looked a bit slow and was often found struggling to cope with the pace of the game. He needs to improve soon or else risk being replaced by Emerson in Sarri’s first-team.
CM: N’Golo Kanté – 6.5/10
The French talent was full of energy in midfield and tried his best to make an impact going forward. However, he is being played out of position which has simply not helped in elevating his game.
CM: Jorginho – 5/10
He was guilty of playing the safe passes too often which is why he got booed by some Chelsea supporters inside Stamford Bridge.
CM: Mateo Kovacic – 5/10
He played some neat balls from midfield but was largely ineffective during the contest.
RM: Pedro – 7.5/10
The Spaniard timed his run to perfection and finished with a lot of class to give Chelsea the lead. He worked his socks off for the Pensioners before being subbed off in the second half.
ST: Eden Hazard – 6.5/10
The Belgian international made some good, darting runs behind the Newcastle defence and set up Willian perfectly in the lead up to Chelsea’s second goal of the day.
LM: Willian – 7/10
The Brazilian sensation missed a great chance in the first half but he more than made up for it by scoring a beautiful goal in the second half which turned out to be the winner.
Substitutes:
CM: Ross Barkley – 5/10
The English prospect retained the ball well but didn’t create anything meaningful in the opposition half.
RM: Callum Hudson-Odoi – 6/10
He was greeted with cheers and songs by the Chelsea supporters in an effort to make him stay at the club. Other than that, it was a nice little 10-minute cameo for the youngster.
Abhinab Ghosh
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