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Chelsea edged past Newcastle United at St James' Park to make it three wins out of three games to kick-start life under Maurizio Sarri. The Blues were made to work relentlessly in order to maintain their 100 percent record in the Premier League this season as the Magpies resorted to a dull 'backs to the wall' approach from the start.
Rafa Benitez's men followed his instructions from the get go and it took Chelsea 75 minutes and a poor decision from referee Paul Tierney to finally break the deadlock through Eden Hazard. The match official awarded Chelsea a penalty after an incident involving Fabian Schar and Marcos Alonso but replay suggested that the defender had clearly got the ball when he lunged in for a challenge.
Hazard made no mistake from the spot and duly converted the spot-kick before Newcastle earned a lifeline through substitute Joselu, who scored with a glancing header at the near post after David Luiz was caught napping and unaware of the threat.
However, Chelsea restored their lead just four minutes later after DeAndre Yedlin, who served an elbow to Olivier Giroud's face during the buildup to the equalizer, toe poked a shot from Alonso into his own net to complete a bizarre turn of events.
The win propelled Chelsea to second place in the table, only behind Liverpool on goal difference, with nine points while Newcastle's slump at home continues and the loss could be a cause for concern. Without further delay, let's take a closer look at the major talking points from the game:
#1 Chelsea lift the curse at St James' Park
The encounter between the two sides was a dull affair at least up until the 75th minute but things escalated very quickly afterwards as the game witnessed plenty of drama in the dying minutes. The win will be a huge boost to Chelsea's confidence and they have lifted a bit of a curse at this venue with the encouraging result.
Prior to kick-off, the last time Chelsea won at St James' Park was back in 2011 and before Sarri arrived on the shores of Tyneside, six different managers had tried and failed in securing all three points away to Newcastle.
Perhaps a more recent memory for some fans would be the 3-0 humbling Chelsea endured on the final day of last season but the list is enormous and it is hopefully destined to remain intact without any further woeful additions.
#2 Game could prove to be a strong advocate for VAR
Paul Tierney had an afternoon to forget in the middle of a what became a controversial and eventful final 20 minutes at St James' Park. The referee was wrong to award Chelsea the penalty to start with and he was also reluctant or maybe blindsided to award a foul by DeAndre Yedlin on Olivier Giroud during the build-up to Newcastle's equalizer.
The overall quality of refereeing on offer was below par as well and it only seemed like Tierney could have done well with a little help from someone watching over his shoulders from the studio.
The VAR remains a distant dream for English football and with almost all of the other top leagues in Europe adopting the system, games like these are expected to make room for strong claims in favour of it.
The complexion of the game could have been completely different with the intervention of VAR but since the ill effect of one wrong decision nullified another equally poor call from the referee, the outcome of the game remained unaffected and this one may even be swept under the mat.
#3 Hazard gets rough treatment but he embraced it with will to succeed
The Belgian skipper was handed his first start of the season by Maurizio Sarri and it did not take the opposition too long to throw their feet and flailing arms at the Chelsea talisman. Exactly 50 odd seconds to be precise, Matt Ritchie's challenge on Eden Hazard was the first of many to come against him during a rough afternoon.
Hazard continued to remain as the subject of petty fouls imposed on him in a bid to try and keep him away from the ball as much as possible. However, the Belgian made it a point to embrace the special treatment he received by constantly trying to make things happen deep inside Newcastle's half.
There was no sense of disbelief among the travelling supporters when Hazard stepped up to take the penalty and he rightfully dispatched a thunderous effort that helped Chelsea break the deadlock. Hazard was also adjudged 'Man Of The Match', his 34th award (a league high), since 2014/15 for his performance throughout the 90 minutes.
#4 The weather is not the only thing gloomy on Tyneside
The weather up on Tyneside did very little to remind us of the summer and the football on offer from Newcastle was the perfect deputy to the gloomy atmosphere at St James' Park. The Magpies resorted to sitting deep in their own half and were not afraid of conceding possession with little emphasis on compromising their rigidity in a bid to push forward.
The approach seemed to work perfectly in favour of the hosts before Chelsea were awarded the penalty but it did not do any good for the neutrals watching closely as the game petered out to be uninspiring.
Furthermore, dropping Jamal Lascelles from the match day squad after the Newcastle skipper had a reported bust up with Rafa Benitez in training is another worrying sign for the club, who look destined for a crisis with all that has happened on and off the field in recent weeks.
#5 Jorginho - The pass master who makes Chelsea tick
Chelsea's summer signing Jorginho has already established himself as the conductor and spine of the west London outfit under Maurizio Sarri. The midfielder was at the top of his game against Newcastle and proved to be a calming presence down the middle for Chelsea as they played the waiting game to try and find an opening.
Jorginho acted as a lynchpin to the Chelsea midfield and grew in confidence as the game progressed, making vital interceptions and chalking out the right pass every now and then. He also managed to equal Fernandinho's record of most touches in the Premier League since 2003/04 with a whopping 186 times to his name.
Unsurprisingly, he made more passes than the entire Newcastle team combined and enjoyed 15 percent of the total possession when compared to the Magpies' paltry 18 percent during the game.
