5 Talking Points: Chelsea vs Newcastle United

#2 Mourinho still special

Jose Mourinho changed the gameplan significantly in the second half

In the press conference building up to the match Steve Holland claimed that Jose Mourinho was the best manager he had ever worked with. Mourinho surely showed what a difference he could make in 15 minutes.

In the first half Chelsea had a few issues to deal with – their passing was not as fluid as usual, Sissoko and Cabella were given too many opportunities to run at the defence and even the counter attacks were consistently thwarted by Newcastle.

There was a clear change in tactics in the second half, a with it a marked change in desire. They blocked off anyone trying to run through the middle, pressed the ball higher up the pitch and that is what led to their second goal. Diego Costa worked incredibly hard to harry Williamson, which allowed Hazard to nick the ball. A couple of passes and a cheeky flick from Oscar later, Diego Costa had the ball at his feet, from where he only had to dummy and shoot to beat Tim Krul with ease.

Although Chelsea never really commanded the game, the high-pressing tactics and a few cynical fouls on the half line meant that Petr Cech was hardly troubled in the second half.