Chelsea 3-1 Newcastle United: Player Ratings

Newcastle United

Karl Darlow - 7/10

Darlow made a superb stop to deny Eden Hazard in the first 45, but could do little to keep out any of Chelsea's three strikes. After a performance like this, he has probably done enough to retain his place between the sticks ahead of Rob Elliot, too.

Javier Manquillo - 6/10

Manquillo did a decent job defensively, with Marcos Alonso largely kept quiet in an attacking sense. He was unable to get forward, however, which denied Newcastle width at times.

Chancel Mbemba - 7/10

Mbemba's positioning was often excellent, with the centre-back making a game-high eight clearances. He read the game well for the most part but was unable to keep Morata and Hazard at bay for continuous periods.

Florian Lejeune - 5/10

Lejeune's clearance from Azpilicueta's cross fell straight to Hazard for the first goal, but it is difficult to blame him for failing to divert it further away. He did not cover himself in glory after that, though, and often took up positions that were too deep and invited pressure on his goal.

Ciaran Clark - 5/10

Clark endured a difficult afternoon at Stamford Bridge, particularly when he was forced to cover in wide areas behind Matt Ritchie. The ex-Aston Villa man made seven clearances and could perhaps have done better with a late header.

Matt Ritchie - 5/10

Deployed in an unfamiliar wing-back role on the left, Ritchie fulfilled his defensive duties diligently but was largely denied the opportunity to get forward on a regular basis. Pinned back by Moses for most of the game, he also slid in late and fouled the Nigerian for their spot-kick.

Mohamed Diame - 5/10

Diame did a good job of carrying the ball through the centre of the park at times, but both he and Mikel Merino were often overrun by Chelsea's three-man midfield. His passing was also a little sloppy.

Mikel Merino - 6/10

Merino is an assured presence in the centre of the pitch and passed the ball well at times, but his lack of mobility helped Chelsea dominate the midfield. He did make more passes in the opposition half than any other Newcastle player, though.

Jacob Murphy - 4/10

Murphy struggled to make an impression on the game and was wasteful with his final ball when he got into promising positions. He did offer a sporadic threat on the counter-attack but often made the wrong decisions in possession.

Ayoze Perez - 6/10

Perez is a gifted footballer but he was largely kept quiet at Stamford Bridge. Nominally a left-sided inside forward in Benitez's 3-4-2-1 formation, the Spaniard tended to drift inside but only mustered a single shot prior to his withdrawal on the hour.

Dwight Gayle - 6/10

Gayle was in the right place at the right time to open the scoring in west London, while his pressing from the front resulted in some early turnovers as Chelsea looked a little nervy playing out from the back. The striker was starved of service as the game wore on, though.

Substitutes:-

Isaac Hayden - 5/10

Introduced to try and prevent Newcastle from being overrun in the middle, Hayden was powerless to stem the flow of Chelsea's attacks.

Jonjo Shelvey - 5/10

The midfielder was robbed of possession shortly after coming on, which almost led to another Hazard goal. He did not get much of an opportunity to showcase his passing abilities either, which was undoubtedly frustrating.

DeAndre Yedlin - N/A

Came on with less than 10 minutes to play and therefore had little time to make an impact.