Chelsea left St. James’ Park with all three points after their win over Newcastle United yesterday. The Magpies were, however, resolute at the back and as Rafa Benitez played a pretty defensive setup to stop Chelsea from scoring before a dodgy tackle resulted in a penalty.
Hazard found the back of the net from the penalty spot following Fabian Schar’s foul on Marcos Alonso. Newcastle, however, did well to immediately bounce back and forward Joselu cancelled the lead a few minutes later.
Maurizio Sarri’s men took the lead once again after DeAndre Yedlin diverted Alonso’s shot past Martin Dubravka on the 87th minute, which eventually proved to the difference between the two outfits.
Notably, Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri was disappointed with the defensive-minded approach as Benitez put most of his men behind the ball, despite being the home side.
Speaking to the press after the game, Sarri said:
“We knew that it would be a difficult game for us, and every team that comes here. But it has been more difficult because in Italy I never saw Rafa play with five defenders at the back. It meant we needed to move the ball very fast.”
