Kai Havertz scored a sublime last-minute winner as Chelsea overcame a stubborn Newcastle to record their fifth successive Premier League win.
The game seemed to be gravitating towards a stalemate until Havertz superbly controlled Jorginho’s lofted through-ball before deftly finishing past a despairing Martin Dúbravka.
It was a rare moment of quality in an otherwise unremarkable fixture, as Newcastle’s tenacity and compactness in defence reduced a much-changed Blues to very few chances.
The result solidifies Chelsea’s grip on third, whilst Newcastle remain nine points above the relegation zone.
Dogged Magpies frustrate Chelsea
Newcastle arrived at Stamford Bridge with six wins in their previous seven and looked to replicate Chelsea’s typical wing-back system by deploying a disciplined 5-4-1 out of possession.
A plethora of injuries however rescinded Chelsea to set up in a 4-2-2-2 in possession; captain Cesar Azpilicueta’s absence meaning the Blues were without five (!!) of their usual wing-back choices. Malang Sarr and Trevoh Chalobah assumed more conventional fullback roles, but Tuchel’s men certainly missed their typical threat in wide positions.
Out of possession, Chelsea would revert to five at the back; Hakim Ziyech dropping into a makeshift RWB role and Chalobah filling in narrower to assume a RCB position.
Chelsea’s ball retention was slow and awkward; perhaps a natural consequence of having one less defender to offer a viable passing angle. They struggled to transcend Newcastle’s compactness in midfield, with Jorginho in particular being afforded very little time on the ball. A speculative Christensen effort was the closest the Blues came in the early stages.
Mendy had to save smartly from a cleanly-hit Almirón volley towards the end of the first half, as Newcastle deservedly went in level at the break.
Chelsea ride their luck
Newcastle were perhaps unfortunate not to be rewarded a penalty just before the hour mark after Chalobah clumsily upended Jacob Murphy, the winger being allowed to progress from near the by-line into the area.
That moment prompted Tuchel into making an uncharacteristically early double substitution; Romelu Lukaku and Mateo Kovacic coming on for the ineffective Werner and Mount.
Kovacic invigorated Chelsea but it took until the 75th minute for the hosts to muster a shot on target. After good combination play down the right involving Chalobah and Ziyech, the Moroccan’s trademark inswinging cross perfectly met the head of Havertz, but the German could only tamely find the hands of Dúbravka.
Havertz plugged away however, and his stunning touch and finish set off delirious scenes in Stamford Bridge, both in the stands and in the manager’s dugouts. Tuchel will recognise how immense of a result this is.
Chelsea must improve in possession however, particularly when visiting the French champions Lille on Wednesday, who showed three weeks ago that they are certainly capable of matching Chelsea in terms of quality on the ball. The Blues will look to defend a two-goal lead and qualify for the last eight of the Champions League.
Player Ratings: Mendy (7); Chalobah (5), Christensen (7), Rudiger (7), Sarr (6); Kante (8), Jorginho (6), Mount (5), Ziyech (6), Werner (5), Havertz (7).
