Chelsea v Newcastle player ratings
Eden Hazard scored twice as Chelsea beat Newcastle at Stamford Bridge. Here’s how we rated each Blues player in the 3-1 victory.
Thibaut Courtois: 6
Unfortunate to see the ball fall straight to Dwight Gayle for the opening goal after showing good anticipation to thwart Jacob Murphy. Other than that had almost nothing to do apart from a couple of nervy moments when he did well with his feet.
Cesar Azplicueta: 7
Made a couple of uncharacteristic mistakes but regained composure quickly and remained as dependable as ever for the most part.
Andreas Christensen: 7
Part of a shaky defensive start, but the Dane recovered after being nudged off the ball in the build up to Newcastle’s goal. He dominated Gayle, used the ball well and almost scored with a brilliant first-half header that hit the post.
Antonio Rudiger: 7
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Defended without alarm and made smart use of the ball. His passing was crisp and precise and he was commanding in the air.
Victor Moses: 8
Initially looked tentative on his first start following injury but settled well enough defensively and offered a real attacking threat as he gained confidence. His cross set up Alvaro Morata’s header for the equaliser and he also won the second-half penalty.
Danny Drinkwater: 8
He provided tremendous energy and workrate and also showed he has plenty of ability on the ball and a fine tactical and football brain. Drinkwater often ran in behind to stretch the away defence but never neglected his defensive duties.
N’Golo Kante: 7
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Gave the ball away on a few occasions but was as busy as ever, snapping into tackles and denying the opposition space.
Marcos Alonso: 7
Slightly unfortunate for the Newcastle goal after nipping in to win possession, Alonzo was steady in attack and more than competent in defence.
Cesc Fabregas: 8
He found space with consummate ease and made numerous defence-splitting passes, both short and long. A 40-yard pass that put Hazard in on goal in first half was sumptuous.
Eden Hazard: 9
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Two-goal Hazard was the key man from a number of impressive attacking performances by the Blues. He flitted between the defensive lines, dropped deep and ran in behind in a complete performance that Newcastle never even got close to containing. But he did miss a couple of good chances for a hat-trick.
Alvaro Morata: 7
Tfhe Spaniard constantly tested the away defence with some cute runs and should have had a first-half penalty. Morata still has a tendency to fail to hold on to possession and go down too easily, but his awareness and ability to execute a pass in the final third can be sensational. Made a fine run for his goal.
Willian: 6
Dangerous in his late cameo and came close to creating a fourth goal on a couple of occasions.
