Brilliant Willian goal gives Chelsea victory
Chelsea 2 Newcastle 1
Willian’s sublime goal gave Chelsea victory at Stamford Bridge.
Eden Hazard ran at the Newcastle defence and laid the ball off the Brazilian, who brilliantly curled his shot beyond keeper Martin Dubravka.
Ciaran Clark had hauled Newcastle level at after Pedro’s early goal put Chelsea ahead.
The Blues opened the scoring when David Luiz sent a fabulous long pass over Clark, which Pedro collected before delicately lifting the ball over Dubravka.
However, after Chelsea struggled to create clear-cut chances despite dominating possession, Clark atoned for his earlier lapse by climbing above Luiz to head in Matt Ritchie’s corner five minutes before the interval.
Willian hit back for Maurizio Sarri’s side in fine style 12 minutes into the second half.
Chelsea: Arrizabalaga, Azpilicueta, Rudiger, Luiz, Alonso, Jorginho, Kante, Kovacic (Barkley 64), Willian, Hazard (Giroud 87), Pedro (Hudson-Odoi 81).
Subs not used: Caballero, Christensen, Emerson, Ampadu.