Chelsea Player ratings from their 2-1 win over Newcastle United | Premier League 2018-19
The Blues came into the game at the back of a draw against Southampton last time out and needed points to further drift away from the fifth-placed Arsenal and the sixth-placed Manchester United.
On the other hand, Rafa Benitez's Newcastle is struggling to get going in the Premier League and are desperate for points to ensure another season in the top tier of English football.
Chelsea got the breakthrough within the first 10 minutes of the game after David Luiz's long pass over the top found Pedro who clipped it over Dubravka for the opening goal of the match. As the game progressed, Newcastle got more involved with Ritchie and Yedlin providing width down the flanks.
Finally, the Magpies got their equalizer after Clarke headed in from a corner to make it all square at half time. Pedro came close at the start of the second half, but the Newcastle goalkeeper produced a brilliant save to deny the Spaniard.
However, the Blues got their lead back after Willian's delightful curved shot gave Dúbravka no chance. The away side pushed for the equalizer late in the game, but Chelsea held on to their lead and won three crucial points.
Here are the Chelsea Player ratings.
Kepa - 6.5/10
The Chelsea goalkeeper had a quiet first quarter of the game, but as Newcastle grew in confidence, he had to deal with a lot of crosses down the wings. Kepa eventually conceded when Clarke thumped in a header from Ritchie's corner to bring the away side back into the game. The second half was pretty comfortable for the Chelsea keeper with most of Newcastle's shot going wide off the post.
Alonso - 6/10
Marcos Alonso didn't look threatening going forward and spent most of the first half dealing with Yedlin down the right-hand side. He got caught out on quite a few occasions on that side which is a bit odd considering his consistent performances in recent times.
David Luiz - 7/10
A moment of magic from the Brazillian opened the scoring for the Blues when his long ball found Pedro who cleverly finished it off. However, he lost few aerial duels including the misjudged header from a corner which bought Newcastle back into the game.
Rudiger - 6.5/10
Antonio's performance was almost at par with his central defensive partner, David Luiz. Though he found it hard to deal with the physicality of Rondon up front and even looked at shaky with his clearances at times, he dealt with it in the end.
Azpilicueta - 6.5/10
The Spaniard had a decent game moving up and down continuously from the right wing and even had to deal with the pace and guile of Atsu.
Kovacic - 6/10
Got the nod over Barkley in the midfield. The former Real Madrid midfielder had some bright moments in the first half. Kovacic was substituted in the second half and was replaced by Barkley.
Kante - 7/10
The Frenchman did what he does best, i.e., disposes the opposition and initiate counter attacks for Chelsea. He moved forward whenever necessary and even helped out Jorginho in the midfield.
Jorginho - 5.5/10
Jorginho kept things simple in the middle of the park and shifted the play out wide on multiple occasions for the full-backs to attack down the wings. However, he was sloppy on occasions and lacked confidence. No way close his best Chelsea performance.
Willian - 7/10
Willian was lively throughout the game and deservedly got his goal with a brilliant curling shot which found the far corner giving the goalkeeper no chance at all.
Pedro - 7.5/10
Pedro gave Chelsea the lead with a beautiful chipped goal in the first half. He showed a lot of energy in the first half but faded away a little in the second. A good performance from the Spaniard.
Hazard - 6.5/10
Though the Belgian didn't get his goal, Hazard threatened down the left side and played quick one-touch passing football with Willian and Pedro. His presence restricted Yedlin's forward movements in the second half.
Substitutes
Barkley - 6/10
The England International came at a time when the Magpies pushed forward for the equalizer. Barkley was solid in his tackles and tried to make a significant contribution in the few minutes that he got under his belt.
Hudson-Odoi & Giroud - N/A
Both of them came late in the game to make any real impact.