Werner ends his goal drought Chelsea 2-0 Newcastle the match report
Chelsea defeated Newcastle United 2-0 in Monday night's premier league fixture at Stamford Bridge to move into the top four thanks to goals from Olivier Giroud and Timo Werner finally getting on the scoresheet
Chelsea did the damage to Newcastle United in a brilliant first half performance as the Magpies had no answer to Chelsea's width, allowing the Blues to create several chances.
Chelsea took the lead after half and hour through a burst down the left hand side by Timo Werner. Newcastle goalkeeper Karl Darlow could only palm Werner's low cross to Olivier Giroud, who came on to replace the injured Tammy Abraham was on hand to emphatically put the loose ball into the back of the net.
Having provided the assist for Giroud's goal Werner himself then scored Chelsea's second before half-time, sweeping in after a corner had ricocheted around the penalty area despite Darlow clawing the ball away even after it had already crossed the line.
Newcastle showed vast signs of improvement in the second half after the half-time break made the second half a complete contrast from their performance in the first half. Chelsea were made to defend strongly at times as they made it four straight wins in a row and goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga made a strong save to deny Joe Willock from scoring in the games closing stages and ensured that the Spaniard kept a clean sheet on his return to action in the premier league.
Head coach Thomas Tuchel made four changes from Chelsea's previous premier league fixture, the most eye-catching change being the inclusion of goalkeeper Kepa continuing in place of Edouard Mendy after keeping a clean sheet in his first game under Thomas Tuchel which was a 1-0 victory away at Barnsley in the FA Cup on Thursday.
Tammy Abraham, the man who scored the decisive winner in that game retained his place, leading the attack with support from Timo Werner and Mason Mount as Olivier Giroud dropped to the bench.
The other changes in the Chelsea starting line-up came in the position of wing-back with recalls for Callum Hudson-Odoi and Marcos Alonso with Reece James and Ben Chilwell giving way.
The partnership in central midfield of Jorginho and Matteo Kovacic continued, after both sat out the FA Cup game, as does the back three in defence of Andreas Christensen, Antonio Rudiger and Cesar Azpiliqueta with Thiago Silva still missing through injury.
Ahead of kick-off the Chelsea players warmed up in shirts which celebrated the Lunar New Year in particular the year of the Ox, this featured a New Year's greeting emblem on the front and their names written in Chinese characters at the back.
Sharp start for Chelsea
Chelsea played in their familiar blue shirts of their home kit as they kicked off the game and it only took the Blues two minutes force the first save from Newcastle goalkeeper Karl Darlow.
This started with a bit of skill on the right hand side from Callum-Hudson Odoi which former Chelsea winger Paul Canoville would have been proud of. That particular image of Canoville showing a look of approval on the pitch as a result of a new banner planted in the corner of Stamford Bridge, honouring Chelsea's first black player who remains critically ill in hospital as be recovers from complications following surgery.
Hudson-Odoi moved the ball across the face of goal to Marcos Alonso through Matteo Kovacic for the Spanish wing-back to let fly with a low shot at the near post, even though it was smothered by Darlow.
Newcastle goalkeeper Darlow had his defenders or rather a striker to thank as Newcastle put all of their players back for Mason Mount's early corner, captain Cesar Azpiliqueta met the delivery with a very powerful header only for Newcastle's Dwight Gayle to get in the way and deflect if over the bar with his head whilst a few yards out.
It was as a result of the width provided by both Hudson-Odoi and Alonso that provided Chelsea with plenty of joy in the games opening stages as the narrow back four of Newcastle's provided plenty of space for Chelsea's wing-backs.
Chelsea forced to make a change
In a double blow for Chelsea which saw Tammy Abraham not only denied a goalscoring opportunity through a last ditch challenge from Jamal Lascelles, but also saw him forced off with injury early in the first half , Olivier Giroud came on to replace him.
That change made in the first time seem to briefly upset Chelsea's rhythm and allowed Newcastle to have their most threatening spell in the game so far, Antonio Rudiger showed excellent reactions to prevent Joe Willock on the edge of the box , before an effort from Newcastle's main man Allan Saint-Maximin's effort was charged down by the Blues defence.
Chelsea however, were soon back on the attack though when Marcos Alonso ghosted in from the back post to get his head to a high ball across goal. Unfortunately for the Spaniard, Timo Werner was unable to stretch far enough to get the necessary contact needed to divert it towards goal.
Werner did however, play a key role in Chelsea's opening goal of the game on the half-hour mark, though. Despite only returning back to the pitch moments after having to go off for treatment after a bleeding as a result of a cut on his lip, Werner picked the ball up out on the left hand side and drove 20 yards forward into the box.
Newcastle goalkeeper Karl Darlow then dived in low towards the feet of Mason Mount in an attempt to block the low cross from Werner, the ball then ricocheted towards Giroud who had come on as a substitute, who struck his shot low and clean into an undefended net.
Werner then came close to extending Chelsea's lead soon after the end of a brilliant move as Matteo Kovacic burst through two Newcastle players in the midfield, Kovacic then exchanged passes with Mount and then fed in Werner , However, the German's first time shot went over the bar.
Chelsea on top at the break
However, Werner did eventually get his name onto the scoresheet just before half-time. A corner bounced off a couple of Newcastle defenders as it found its way to the far post, where great balance was shown by Werner in attempting to turn the ball goalwards. Karl Darlow clawed the ball away from the goal only for Antonio Rudiger to follow up from close range and tap it home, however, the goal-line technology showed that Werner's initial effort has crossed the line by a clear margin before Darlow as able to make an intervention.
It was a very welcome goal for Werner who had netted for the first time since early January, taking his total tally for the season into double figures but it was very well deserved for for another lively 45 minutes by the German forward. There was nearly a third goal for Chelsea just before the half-time break, but Mason Mount was unable to make a clean connection and put his shot wide at the ned of a quick Chelsea counter attack.
A shift in balance
When Chelsea came back out for the second half, Kepa was forced into making his first saves of the game, as a result of a deflected shot from Isaac Hayden and then from a free-kick from Jonjo Shelvey both which he was able to make look simple.
It was clear that Newcastle had been doing some reflection during the half-time break and were going to be more dangerous in the second half. Chelsea were very grateful that their best chance was miscued by Joe Willock when Allan Saint-Maximin drilled his shot low towards the near post.
It took more than 15 minutes to anything in terms of the amount of possession Chelsea enjoyed in the first half , but the game remained even in the second half. Newcastle's decision to replace Dwight Gayle with the more physical Joelinton and later on Andy Carroll in attack meant that Chelsea's defenders were kept on their toes.
For Chelsea's part Matteo Kovacic saw a curling shot go just over and a header from Marcos Alonso called Karl Darlow into action, however, Chelsea were struggling to regain control. The solution delivered by Thomas Tuchel was to bring on N'Golo Kante's energy on the pitch to provide an extra body in midfield, along with the defensive minded approach of Reece James to replace Hudson-Odoi at wing-back.
However, Kepa Arrizabalaga was still required to produce his best save of the game having to tip away a bouncing header from Joe Willock at the back post which Miguel Almiron should have done much better after volleying high and wide whilst at the near post.
Much similar to the FA Cup game against Barnsley last week Chelsea had to show their defensive resilience within the last 10 minutes of the game, and did extremely well to ensure that Newcastle rarely looked like scoring a goal they required in order to get back into the game. This gave Chelsea even more reason to be very grateful for Timo Werner's second goal just before half-time, as it could have been a more nervy end to the game without the two goal lead.
What's next for Chelsea
Chelsea are back in premier league action next on Saturday, when the Blues travel to St Mary's to face Southampton in a 12:30pm kick-off, before champions league action returns in 2021 when Chelsea face Atletico Madrid in the first leg of their last-16 tie in Bucharest which takes place three days later.
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