Newcastle United 0-2 Chelsea: 5 talking points as the Blues cruised to a victory | Premier League 2020-21

Newcastle United v Chelsea - Premier League
Newcastle United v Chelsea - Premier League

Newcastle United hosted Chelsea as the Premier League returned to action this weekend after the international break. The Blues visited St. James' Park on an 11-game unbeaten streak as they looked to continue their good run, whereas, the Magpies hoped to catch the Blues cold after a 2-week break.

Thiago Silva and Christian Pulisic missed out for Chelsea and Callum Wilson missed out for the hosts due to injury.

The Blues started the game brightly as they looked to open the scoring. They dominated possession and pushed Newcastle back into their half. Timo Werner and Hakim Ziyech looked dangerous in attack. Karl Darlow was impressive in-goal for the hosts as he made very good saves from Timo Werner and Tammy Abraham.

The visitors were rewarded for their dominance in the most surprising fashion. Mason Mount fired in a cross after a short corner which was turned in for a own-goal by Federico Fernández. The hosts complained about a push from behind on the defender by Ben Chilwell, however, the goal stood after a review.

The Blues should have doubled their lead, but Timo Werner could not shoot on target after some great build-up play. The hosts were able to restrict the rest of the half without conceding again and the sides went into the break with the score 1-0 in the favor of the visitors.

Steve Bruce was forced to make a change at the break due to an injury to captain Jamaal Lascelles. The hosts started the second-half on a positive note as they pushed forward in search of an equalizer, however, the visitors also had their chances on the break.

Timo Werner should have doubled the lead for Chelsea when he was through on goal, however, he chose to pass it across instead of taking a shot which was intercepted by the Magpies defense.

Timo Werner made up for his earlier miss when he ran through the hosts' defense and put Tammy Abraham through on goal to double the lead. The second goal helped the Blues settle and push the Magpies back into their half again.

Chelsea continued to dominate the game without scoring again as another impressive performance sees them go top of the table for some time. However, Newcastle will be disappointed after a toothless performance.

On that note, here are the five major talking points from the game at St. James' Park.

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Newcastle United 0-2 Chelsea: 5 talking points

#5. Reece James continues to impress

Newcastle United v Chelsea - Premier League
Newcastle United v Chelsea - Premier League

Reece James has at times been lauded as Chelsea's future by Frank Lampard, however, the right-back was yet to cement his place in the starting eleven coming into this season. The youngster's quality going forward was never in question, however, he was caught defensively at times last season.

The right-back has been highly impressive this season for Chelsea, and, this performance was another comfortable outing for him. He has added defensive nous to his game to complement his quality going forward. The youngster looks to have finally become a permanent fixture in the first eleven in place of captain César Azpilicueta.

The Englishman's chemistry with Hakim Ziyech on the right side is proving to be a big weapon for Chelsea. Frank Lampard will hope that James continues his progression and lives up to his belief in him.

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#4. Callum Wilson's importance

Wolverhampton Wanderers v Newcastle United - Premier League
Wolverhampton Wanderers v Newcastle United - Premier League

Callum Wilson has been Newcastle's star man since his move from Bournemouth in the summer. The striker has netted 6 goals and assisted 1 in the Premier League. If there were any doubts about his importance to the Magpies then their performance in his absence today must have cleared them.

The hosts were toothless as they lacked a focal point in attack. They struggled to create any meaningful chances and failed to provide the finishing touch required whenever they were able to run at Chelsea's defense on the break.

Steve Bruce will hope the striker is back in action soon. His side looks short of ideas in attack without Wilson leading the line. Newcastle's fortunes this season will depend on Wilson's availability and the Magpies faithful will hope the striker can continue to score goals after coming back from injury.

#3. Newcastle's poor response

Newcastle United v Chelsea - Premier League
Newcastle United v Chelsea - Premier League

Newcastle United had a poor performance against Southampton just before the international break. The Magpies were expected to respond positively against Chelsea, considering most of the Blues players were out on international duty and the hosts had two weeks to work on a gameplan.

The hosts simply stood off as the visitors took complete control of the game. It seemed that the Magpies' game plan was to just sit compact and try to hit a late sucker punch similar to the one in the corresponding fixture last season.

The hosts were easy to carve open for the Blues and were lucky to only concede two goals. Steve Bruce will be disappointed by this performance and he will hope to get a better response from his side next week against Crystal Palace, otherwise they risk getting pulled into the relegation battle already.

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#2. Chelsea's defensive improvement

Newcastle United v Chelsea - Premier League
Newcastle United v Chelsea - Premier League

Chelsea spent a lot of money in the summer to improve their squad. The likes of Hakim Ziyech, Timo Werner, and Kai Havertz were brought to add goals and creativity to the side. They have been impressive as the Blues are the highest scoring team in the league.

However, there were questions mark over their quality in defense. Ben Chilwell, Thiago Silva, and Edouard Mendy were brought to shore up the back. Chilwell started the season out due to injury and Mendy was signed late in the window, but since they have come into the side along with Thiago Silva, and with N'Golo Kanté moving back into the holding role, the Blues have been mightily impressive in defense.

The win against Newcastle was their sixth clean sheet in the last seven matches which shows how far they have come since last season. The Blues faithful must have been worried how their defense will hold up this evening as Silva was absent, however, Antonio Rüdiger was solid in his first start in the Premier League this season.

Frank Lampard will hope his side continues to build on this new found defensive solidarity as the season progresses.

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#1. Chelsea looking like contenders

Newcastle United v Chelsea - Premier League
Newcastle United v Chelsea - Premier League

Chelsea's win against Newcastle sees them go top of the table at least for few hours. The Blues are now unbeaten for 7 games and are also the top-scoring side in the League.

This was expected to be a tricky test for Frank Lampard's side after the international break, they lost the corresponding fixture last season. However, the Blues took absolute control of the game from the start even though they never seemed to get out of second gear.

The next few weeks will be the true test of the Blues' title credentials. Frank Lampard obviously downplayed talk of any title challenge after the match, however, if his side can continue their impressive run through the next few weeks, then Chelsea will surely be one of the sides pushing for the Premier League title.

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Edited by S Chowdhury