Cole Palmer shone against the Magpies as Chelsea beat Newcastle 2-1 at Stamford Bridge in the Premier League.
The Blues started strong; Palmer had the ball in the back of the net after four minutes courtesy of some fantastic forward play from Nicolas Jackson to set him up for a scuffed finish past Nick Pope. Unfortunately for the 22-year-old, VAR intervened and deemed the goal fractionally offside.
Enzo Maresca’s side did not have to wait long to open the scoring, a pin-point Palmer pass fell into the path of Pedro Neto who used his incredible pace to beat two Newcastle defenders. The Portuguese winger then set the ball on a plate for Jackson to tap the ball past Pope in the 18th minute.
The Magpies retaliated in the 32nd minute, carving through Chelsea’s defence with a slick pattern of play that resulted in a tap-in for Alexander Isak. The goal reflected the quality that Newcastle possesses. Still, it also displayed Chelsea’s continued weaknesses in defence as Eddie Howe’s side bypassed the midfield and defence too easily.
Palmer started the second half with a bang after he grabbed the match-winner in the 47th minute. A tackle from Romeo Lavia in the middle of the park fell to the feet of Palmer, who was given all the time and space to venture into the opposition box and fire a shot into the bottom left-hand corner.
Maresca was pleased with his side’s display after the game he stated: “The performance was top. Fantastic on the ball and off the ball…
They showed the desire to get three points so fantastic.”
One negative from the game for Chelsea would be their goalkeeper, Robert Sanchez. Maresca is a fan of the Spanish goalkeeper and at times this season, that faith has been repaid with excellent performances away from home against West Ham and Bournemouth. Sanchez’s issues stem from his high-risk high-reward playstyle, similar to Ederson under Pep Guardiola, Sanchez is used as another outfield player and is encouraged to play out from the back however, multiple times this season and in the previous match his errors when passing out from the back has put Chelsea under unnecessary pressure. Maresca may look at promoting Filip Jorgensen if these issues continue.
Reece James was in uncharted territory as he was utilised at left-back on Sunday. Chelsea’s Captain proved to be more than competent in this unfamiliar position in a return to form that fans can only hope is not stunted again by injuries.
Palmer will continue to receive plaudit from fans and pundits for his major contributions to both Blues’ goals however, Neto’s performance was also impressive. Having shared minutes with the plethora of talent Chelsea have in attack, Neto has seen his best games in cup competitions and cameos off the bench. Against Newcastle, he started the game on the left, often switching to the right with Noni Madueke, where he was a constant threat to the Magpie’s defence. His drive to win the ball particularly shone as he became a consistent nuisance to ex-Chelsea academy graduate, Tino Livramento. Despite an unbelievable pass from Palmer, few players would have had the speed required to reach the ball and maintain their composure to set up Jackson for an easy finish like Neto did. Undoubtedly his best performance in a Blues’ shirt and hopefully this form continues.
Chelsea’s victory has placed them 5th in the League after nine games, only one point behind Aston Vila and Arsenal. This result and performance was exactly the response Chelsea needed after last week’s tough loss to Liverpool.
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