Chelsea vs. Newcastle: Score, Grades, Reaction from Premier League Game
Oscar and Diego Costa scored either side of half-time as Chelsea reclaimed sole possession of first place in the Premier League with a 2-0 victory over visiting Newcastle United on Saturday at Stamford Bridge.
Newcastle created the better chances for much of the first half, but Chelsea went ahead two minutes before the break as Oscar netted following a quickly taken corner. He then turned provider for the second, combining with Eden Hazard to set up Costa in the 59th minute.
The result took Chelsea up to 49 points through 21 matches, two points clear of defending champions Manchester City, who drew 1-1 at Everton in their Premier League game on Saturday.
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It was Chelsea's 10th home win in as many attempts, and Blues manager Jose Mourinho will be hoping such excellent home form will continue to fuel his side's title push this spring.
Up next for Chelsea is a match at Swansea next Saturday, one day before Man City host top-four challengers Arsenal. Newcastle are scheduled to host fourth-placed Southampton next Saturday.
Saturday's victory ended a brief two-match winless run for Chelsea, who had held an eight-point lead over Manchester City at one point in November. But after Mourinho's side suffered a slight dip in form—which could be traced to a 2-1 defeat at Newcastle on Dec. 6—the two clubs entered Saturday in a virtual tie for first place, Chelsea leading on alphabetical order only.
That day, Newcastle played under manager Alan Pardew, but following Pardew's departure to Crystal Palace, the Magpies have been led by caretaker boss John Carver.
Chelsea's starting XI for the rematch featured a couple of notable changes. Centre-back Kurt Zouma came into the squad alongside captain John Terry, replacing the out-of-form Gary Cahill. In goal, Petr Cech earned a rare start after Thibaut Courtois suffered a broken thumb prior to the match.
The league leaders started slowly, struggling to deal with Newcastle's Remy Cabella as the visitors created the better opportunities for most of the first half.
In the third minute, Newcastle's Moussa Sissoko cut inside from the left flank before shooting weakly at Cech. Cabella came closer in the 20th minute, hitting a deflected shot just wide of the post after bursting into the box with a mazy run.
Cech had to be sharp to stop Yoan Gouffran's powerful, swerving free-kick in the 21st minute. Chelsea countered quickly, hitting Newcastle with a swift attack down the pitch, but the move fell apart when Costa chose to pass rather than shoot.
Chelsea were starting to show signs of life, and in the 23rd minute, Oscar shot wide after Nemanja Matic picked him out along the edge of the box. But Cabella was still proving to be a handful at the other end, using his pace to burst through the heart of Chelsea's side before curling a shot on target in the 32nd minute. Cech saved again to keep the Blues level.
Newcastle created another chance in the 37th minute, taking advantage of an injury to Cesar Azpilicueta down Chelsea's left flank. After gliding past John Terry and into the box, Sissoko smacked a shot high off the near post from a tight angle.
The visitors had been the better side for much of the first half, but when the opener arrived in the 43rd minute, it came at the other end. In a moment of improvisation, Willian played a short corner quickly to Branislav Ivanovic on the right. Nearing the byline, Ivanovic rolled a pass across the face of goal to Oscar, who finished at the back post for a 1-0 lead heading into half-time.
Football Radar's Jack Rathborn and The Independent's Glenn Moore both critiqued Newcastle for their play in the first half:
It was a cruel twist for Newcastle, and Chelsea had a chance to add another before the break. In first-half stoppage time, Willian curled a good free-kick on target, but Newcastle goalkeeper Tim Krul punched the ball away to safety.
Chelsea had a penalty appeal denied in the 54th minute as a Costa cross hit the hand of Newcastle defender Fabricio Coloccini inside the box. Referee Roger East awarded only a corner, leading to outraged protests from some of Chelsea's players.
Five minutes later, Chelsea doubled their lead via a familiar face. The sequence started as Eden Hazard lifted a clever pass over the top of Newcastle's defence for Oscar, who played a backheel pass to Costa. Moving from left to right across the face of goal, Costa took a touch before shooting back across his body to beat Krul at the goalkeeper's right-hand post.
In the 65th minute, Cech had to tip over a Sammy Ameobi cross that curled too close to the Chelsea goal. At the other end, Costa shot weakly at Krul three minutes later.
Costa nearly finished off the match in the 79th minute following a Newcastle giveaway in midfield. After taking possession outside the box, Costa cut inside in a fashion similar to his earlier goal, again shooting across his body. This time, however, Coloccini made a timely intervention, clearing the ball over the bar.
It mattered little in the end, though, as Chelsea were able to see out the final 10 minutes with relative ease. And with the full three points, the Blues found themselves back in their familiar spot atop the table.
Grades
| Petr Cech | 7.4 |
| Branislav Ivanovic | 7.9 |
| Kurt Zouma | 6.9 |
| John Terry | 7.7 |
| Cesar Azpilicueta | 7.2 |
| Cesc Fabregas | 8.1 |
| Nemanja Matic | 7.8 |
| Willian | 7.1 |
| Oscar | 8.2 |
| Eden Hazard | 7.9 |
| Diego Costa | 8.4 |
| Filipe Luis (for Azpilicueta, 37') | 6.7 |
| Ramires (for Oscar, 79') | 6.0 |
| Loic Remy (for Costa, 84') | 6.0 |
| Tim Krul | 5.9 |
| Daryl Janmaat | 7.3 |
| Michael Williamson | 5.9 |
| Fabricio Coloccini | 7.1 |
| Paul Dummett | 6.2 |
| Vurnon Anita | 6.5 |
| Jack Colback | 6.4 |
| Remy Cabella | 8.7 |
| Moussa Sissoko | 6.6 |
| Yoan Gouffran | 6.4 |
| Ayoze Perez | 5.8 |
| Sammy Ameobi (for Gouffran, 63') | 6.5 |
| Emmanuel Riviere (for Sissoko, 84') | 6.0 |
Reaction
Chelsea assistant coach Steve Holland (via PremierLeague.com):
"The two halves were different. You have to give credit to Newcastle, I think John Carver and Steve Stone gave them a good set-up today. We didn't play so well but got the breakthrough.
The team was much better in the second half and controlled the game, playing some good football around their box.
You always want to play well but that's not always possible. Today was a 45 minutes which we haven't had often over the course of the season but we still managed to be 1-0 up. It is important that when you don't play as well as you'd like to still get the result.
"
Newcastle caretaker manager John Carver (via Sky Sports):
"It’s a little bit unfortunate because we spoke about it yesterday and we covered the points on short corners, because against the best sides they get it down and play quickly and they can hurt you with the quality they’ve got.
The time when it came as well (hurt us)—just before half time. I thought if we could get in at 0-0 and regroup again and reinforce some of the gameplan points then we’d be OK, but the goal just came at the wrong time.
We had two or three great chances—Moussa Sissoko hitting the post, and Cabella, who was outstanding all day, brought off a great save from the goalkeeper.
We’ve come here and said ‘listen, give them the respect but make sure we don’t just park the bus’, and we didn’t do that. We actually took the game to them and I think we surprised Jose a little bit. But they got the result and that’s what counts.
"
