Cole Palmer shone as Chelsea moved up to fifth place in the Premier League with a narrow win over Newcastle United. Palmer was the difference at Stamford Bridge, having a big hand in one goal and scoring the other.
Newcastle put up a fight, cancelling out Chelsea’s opener and spurning a second-half opportunity, but the Blues deserved it. The win sees Chelsea go five points and seven places clear of the Magpies.
Palmer had a strong first half
Chelsea thought they’d taken the lead through Cole Palmer when he slotted an effort into the far corner, but it was ruled out for offside. Nicolas Jackson brilliant worked himself into some space with a smart turn, but Palmer ran too soon.
It wasn’t long before Jackson made his mark, scoring in the 18th minute after being picked out by Pedro Neto. Palmer found Neto on the run with a defence-splitting pass, and he squared the ball for Jackson who couldn’t miss.
Newcastle weren’t lying down, however, and found an equaliser in a similar fashion to Chelsea’s opening goal. Alexander Isak got on the end of a cutback from Lewis Hall to tap into an empty net after 31 minutes.
Newcastle will rue missed Isak chance
Chelsea regained the lead just minutes into the second half. Palmer collected the ball with room to run at the defence and fired into the bottom corner.
Chelsea had a great chance to double their advantage when Joelinton was found in the area, but his header hit the post.
Newcastle nearly made the Blues pay for the missed opportunity when Isak rounded Robert Sanchez, but he didn’t release the ball.
Isak capitalised on a defensive error and beat the goalkeeper, but he didn’t pick out a teammate and the chance was gone.
Chelsea were awarded a penalty late on when Christopher Nkunku was brought down in the area, but VAR ruled it out.
Nevertheless, Chelsea held on for the win and continued their ascent up the table.
