Chelsea vs Newcastle PLAYER RATINGS: Which Blues star is ‘clinging on’ to his place? Who scored just a 5 for the Magpies? And who is no longer a ‘waste’ of a purchase?

Chelsea clung on to seal a 2-1 win over Newcastle and get their noses back in the Champions League places.

Nicolas Jackson put the Blues ahead after Cole Palmer‘s exquisite pass found Petro Neto, who set up striker, before Alexander Isak levelled for the visitors.

But as is often the case at Stamford Bridge, Cole Palmer rose to the occasion and netted the winner in the second half.

While Chelsea won their first league game in three, Newcastle are now five winless and remain in the bottom half. 

Which of Enzo Maresca‘s star is ‘clinging on’ to his spot? Which key star only managed a 5 for Newcastle? And who is finally convincing Blues fans he is not a wasteful buy? Mail Sport’s KIERAN GILL was at Stamford Bridge to bring you our player ratings.  

Toon got back on the scoresheet and threatened towards the end but were mostly second best

CHELSEA (4-2-3-1)

Robert Sanchez – 6

He’s clinging on as Chelsea’s No 1 but his distribution needs to improve, as his constant giving away of the ball away here created Newcastle chances.

Malo Gusto – 6.5

Got the nod on the right, though it was from that side where Newcastle went on to equalise as Hall overlapped Barnes before assisting Isak.

Wesley Fofana – 6.5

Booked for his sixth Premier League game running. Banked on a whistle for a foul that never came when Newcastle broke through late on, but Isak didn’t make the most of that chance.

Robert Sanchez constantly gave the ball away and is at risk of his his place between the sticks

Reece James was deployed at left back and was effective as he denied Alexander Isak a goal

Levi Colwill – 7

He may have fouled Guimaraes, but thankfully for Chelsea, it wasn’t inside the box so that made VAR Jarred Gillett’s job much easier. Stole the ball from Isak before Palmer’s strike.

Reece James – 7

Surprisingly used at left back rather than right back. Greatest contribution came after 70 minutes when he stopped Isak from scoring a second equaliser by getting back on the goal-line.

Moises Caicedo – 7.5

You will find far fewer Chelsea fans criticising Caicedo as a £115m waste nowadays as he’s become a big interceptor for them, including getting to the ball before Isak could make it 2-2.

Far fewer Chelsea fans nowadays perceive the £115million spent on Moises Caicedo as a waste

Romeo Lavia was instrumental in the build-up to Cole Palmers winning goal as he won the ball

Romeo Lavia – 7

Started ahead of Enzo Fernandez as Lavia can be a hurricane in Chelsea’s midfield, him and Colwill pinching possession together in the build-up to Palmer making it 2-1.

Noni Madueke – 6.5

Looked for a foul when he burst in behind, taking a tumble after a tug from Burn. But the officiating team were not in the mood for helping Chelsea here.

Cole Palmer – 9

Pass of the season, surely. The Premier League will do well to see a better one than Palmer’s ball in behind to create Chelsea’s opener. He then gave them a 2-1 lead with a splendid strike.

Palmer’s ‘pass of the season’ sent Chelsea on their way for the first and he scored the winner

Pedro Neto – 7.5

Made no mistake in squaring the ball to Jackson for 1-0. Hoped he had helped Chelsea retake their lead via a deflection but Pope pushed it away. The post also denied him from heading home.

Nicolas Jackson – 7.5

Great take and turn before his pass in behind for Palmer, even if that strike was disallowed. Jackson is underrated at build-up play, and he got a goal for himself via a tap-in.

SUBS

Mykhailo Mudryk (for Madueke, 67) – 6

Had a big chance to extend Chelsea’s lead late on but denied by Pope.

Enzo Fernandez (for Lavia, 72) – 6

Brought on to see through the win alongside Caicedo.

Enzo Maresca had an aggressive outlook on the touchline and it paid off in the end 

Marc Cucurella (for Gusto, 78) – N/A

Christopher Nkunku (for Jackson, 78) – N/A

MANAGER

Enzo Maresca – 7

Showed his anger throughout. Smacking his seat. Venting to staff. But in the end, the aggro was worth it as Chelsea got a big win to continue their push for the Premier League’s top four.

NEWCASTLE (4-3-3)

Nick Pope – 5.5

No stopping Jackson from tapping in the opener. Managed to deny Neto twice, at least, but not Palmer when he was charging down on Newcastle’s defence.

Tino Livramento – 5.5

Back to face the club who produced him then sold him. Palmer’s pass on his inside totally took him out of the picture, giving him no chance of catching up with Neto.

Fabian Schar – 5.5

Palmer’s early strike was disallowed for offside, but when Newcastle thought it was legit, Schar was involved in a heated inquest with Joelinton. Failed to stop Neto in build-up to opener.

Nick Pope will have been disappointed to have been beaten as he was for the winning goal

Tino Livramento didn’t stand a chance against Palmer’s gorgeous through-ball in the first half

Dan Burn – 5.5

Could not keep up with Jackson to stop his tap-in for 1-0. Referee Simon Hooper awarded Chelsea a penalty after his ‘foul’ on Nkunku but VAR, probably rightfully, ruled it was too soft.

Lewis Hall – 6

Good overlapping run into the box to collect a pass from Barnes before finding Isak for 1-1. Another one of Newcastle’s starters who was produced by Chelsea’s Cobham academy. 

Sandro Tonali – 5.5

It was striking how many men Newcastle seemed to have in midfield on paper, and yet for large periods, they appeared to have no one as Chelsea were controlling the contest.

Bruno Guimaraes – 5

Hoped to win a penalty when he dropped down – and then went through the whole pantomime of pretending to be injured by Colwill’s challenge – but it happened outside of the box.

It was not Bruno Guimaraes’ finest day at the office as Newcastle struggled to control the game

Alexander Isak got his goal but was sloppy in possession and lacking with his decision-making

Joelinton – 5.5

Joelinton is never afraid of picking up possession in tight spaces, driving forward with the ball whenever he can. How he wishes Isak had tried to pass to him instead of going for goal himself.

Miguel Almiron – 5.5

Skewed his chance to level it up after breaking in behind on to Guimaraes’s ball. Another chance was saved by Sanchez as, eventually, Howe changed both of his wide men.

Alexander Isak – 5

Right place, right time to make it 1-1. But he lost possession prior to Palmer scoring and then he messed up a glorious chance, going for goal himself instead of squaring to Joelinton.

Harvey Barnes – 6

It was 2-1 when he drove inside from the left and we thought one of his classic whips into the corner might follow… but he delayed and delayed until the chance was wasted.

SUBS

Jacob Murphy (for Almiron, 68) – 6

Introduced on the right, with help from Livramento, but could not break behind Chelsea.

Joe Willock (for Barnes, 68) – 6

Partnered Isak up top but never saw a clear-cut chance come his way to save Newcastle.

Newcastle fans booed when Sandro Tonali was withdrawn but he had not made a big impact

Sean Longstaff (for Tonali, 68) – 6

Newcastle’s fans booed the removal of Tonali, though he had hardly done much with his minutes.

William Osula (for Joelinton, 89) – N/A

Lloyd Kelly (for Hall, 89) – N/A

MANAGER

Eddie Howe – 5

Chelsea controlled chunks of this match but Newcastle managed to get back into it at 1-1. Yet chasing the game, they couldn’t get back into it.

It was a disappointing game for Eddie Howe’s side, who were largely outplayed by Chelsea

REFEREE

Simon Hooper – 4

Not his greatest game. You know you’ve been poor when neither set of supporters are pleased with your performance. Dodgy decisions included a Chelsea penalty that VAR had to overturn.