Player Ratings: Chelsea 3-0 Newcastle

Since we beat Newcastle, Liverpool thrashed Arsenal and Man City drew away to Norwich, Chelsea is first in the Premier League for the first time since August. In all honesty, the boys did not play their best football though they still dominated Newcastle. We had 18 attempts at goal to Newcastle’s 12 and we had 59% possession. A master class by Eden Hazard proved to be the difference between the 2 sides as he scored his first ever Premier League. hat trick.

Here are the player ratings for this match:

Petr Cech- 7.5/10 Petr had a quiet game today though in fairness he made a couple saves.

Branislav Ivanovic- 8/10 Branislav played well in attack this match. He kept Ameobi defending for Newcastle, leading to them having when less attacker on the counter attack. He played this assist for Hazard to score his first goal.

Gary Cahill- 8/10 Gary broke up the attacks Newcastle had with ease. His interceptions and tackles were great, and his passing to the midfield was very strong. He had a good game.

David Luiz- 7.5/10  Gary Cahill outshined David Luiz in this match though in fairness he didn’t do much wrong. His passing was good though his last ditch tackles were not as effective as Cahill’s.

Cesar Azpilicueta- 7.5/10 Cesar had an average game against Newcastle. He wasn’t tested defensively, which allowed him to sit a little further forward in this match. He wasn’t effective in attack either though.

Nemanja Matic- 7.5/10 Matic had a solid first half in this match, though he died out in the second half. His passing was great in the first half, as well as his ability to break down the opposing attack.

Frank Lampard- 7.5/10 Frank had a good game against Newcastle. It was clear that he isn’t at the same level he was a few years ago, and he clearly is set to retire. His passing was decent against Newcastle and due to their lack of threat on the counter attack; Frank was given a free roaming licence in attack. He made a great interception in defence though which surely saved us a goal.

Willian- 8/10(Subbed off 78^th minute for Salah) Hazard clearly out-shone the other Chelsea attackers against Newcaste. In fairness though, Willian played well. His distribution was top notch and his work rate was second to none. He could have been more clinical though with a couple of wayward shots.

Oscar – 8/10 Oscar is another player who was outshone by Hazard. He defended well and his attack was great. He played a great chip pass to Shurrle who couldn’t capitalise on the chance. He often found himself dropping deep to collect the ball and to start our attack.

Eden Hazard- 9.5/10 (Subbed off 84^th minute for Schurrle)

Eden Hazard take a bow son! Eden had a wonderful game against Newcastle. His wonderful first touch and pass set his first goal up, a great counter attack, started by Hazard himself set his second, and his third, a penalty was calmly taken for a wonderful hat-trick. A clear man of the match, Eden will be one of the worlds best in coming years.

Samuel Eto’o- 8/10(subbed off 70^th minute for Ba)

Eto’o was a handful for Newcastle, as he often was running behind their defence, taking players out of position. He played a wonderful flick pass to Hazard for his second goal and earned the penalty for Hazard’s third.

Used Subs:

Demba Ba – 6.5/10 Ba played 20 minutes in this match, and in my opinion did absolutely nothing. He had one shot, which went closer to the corner post than it did to the goals.

Mohammed Salah 7.5/10 Salah stirred up some excitement in the 15 minutes he played. His blistering pace decimated Newcastle and he was unlucky that he missed 2 one on one’s. He will be a player to watch in the future.

Andre Shurrle -7.5/10 Shurrle has been unlucky to be kept out of the Chelsea squad lately due to Willian’s great form. He was clearly craving a goal when Oscar played a lovely lofted pass to him as he could of passed to an open Ba, but instead he skyed his shot.

Our boys are first! KTBFFH!