Kai Havertz struck late to seal Chelsea a late 1-0 win against a resilient Newcastle side in the Premier League at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
The Blues failed to register a shot on target until the 75th minute when Hakim Ziyech picked out Havertz with a wonderful cross, but the German headed straight at Martin Dubravka in Chelsea’s best chance of the match at that stage.
There was nothing to separate the sides in the first half where Newcastle had the better of the chances. Dan Burn glanced a header wide of the mark before Miguel Almiron forced a fine reaction save from Edouard Mendy on the stroke of half-time.
Both sides had penalty shouts waved away in the second half. Jacob Murphy went down under a challenge from Trevoh Chalobah before Dubravka fouled Timo Werner, who was offside. Both sides made attacking changes as the game wore on, but it was Havertz who grabbed the winner, latching onto an exquisite aerial ball from Jorginho, taking the pass down and slotting the ball into the far corner of the net.
Tuchel’s men switch their focus to the Champions League on Wednesday evening when they travel to Lille, looking to build on a two-goal advantage and book their place in the quarter-finals. As for Newcastle, they are back on the road once again in the Premier League when they make the trip to Frank Lampard’s Everton on Thursday night.
TALKING POINT
Havertz controversy. Some might say that Havertz should have seen red in the first half for his aerial challenge on Burn, a bitter pill to swallow for the Newcastle faithful, as the German tucked home the winning goal in front of them in the closing minutes of the game. From a Chelsea perspective, Havertz has really found his feet and has become very accustomed to playing the role of number nine. He is quickly becoming the main character with his confidence ever-growing, all-round game continuously improving and all at the tender age of just 22.
MAN OF THE MATCH
Dan Burn (Newcastle). Undoubtedly, Havertz will grab the back-page headlines however the valiant display by Newcastle defender Burn cannot go unnoticed. The towering centre-half was equal to nearly everything that Chelsea threw in his direction and perhaps could have got on the scoresheet himself. He has proven a shrewd acquisition since joining from Brighton and will be crucial to Newcastle’s inevitable rise up the table if they continue to put in displays like the one they showed today.
PLAYER RATINGS
CHELSEA: Mendy 7, Chalobah 7, Christensen 7, Rudiger 7, Sarr 7, Jorginho 7, Kante 7, Ziyech 7, Mount 6, Werner 6, Havertz 8.
Subs: Kovacic 6, Pulisic 6, Lukaku 6.
NEWCASTLE: Dubravka 6, Manquillo 6, Schar 6, Lascelles 6, Burn 8, Targett 6, Longstaff 6, Almiron 6, Guimaraes 6, Murphy 6, Wood 6.
Subs: Saint-Maximin 6, Fraser 5, Gayle 5.
KEY MOMENTS
58’ PENALTY CLAIM FOR NEWCASTLE! Well, Chelsea may be fortunate to get away with that one. Chalobah has hold of Murphy who goes down under the challenge inside the penalty area. However, the referee and VAR deem that there was not enough contact to warrant a penalty. Big call.
62’ PENALTY CLAIM FOR CHELSEA! Werner is put through one-v-one with Dubravka who brings the German to the floor, a penalty probably would have been given but Werner was offside. Two very close calls in both boxes in the last five minutes.
89’ GOAL! CHELSEA 1-0 NEWCASTLE (HAVERTZ) Wow, what drama and what a wonderful finish from Havertz! The German latches onto an exquisite aerial ball from Jorginho, taking the pass down and slotting the ball into the far corner of the net. Have Chelsea just snatched a dramatic late winner!? There are four minutes of additional time to be played.
