Chelsea defeated Newcastle 3-0 in another great performance from Mourinho’s squad, with a fantastic individual display from Hazard.
GK: Cech 7/10
Cool and composed as the veteran always seems to be, was tested on a few occasions by De Jong and late on by Marveaux. Other than that, Cech had a bit of a quiet night as the back four provided great coverage.
RB: Ivanovic 8.5/10
The arrival of Matic has allowed Ivanovic to venture further forward, as was the case with today’s match. Defensively, he was hardly tested and this allowed him to join Willian in running at Santon down the right flank.
CB: Cahill 8.5/10
Aside from Terry, Cahill has grown into a leader on the pitch. His tackling in the defensive third stuffed out many Newcastle attacks tonight, and his willingness to sacrifice his body was not unnoticed by the Chelsea faithful.
CB: Luiz 7.5/10
Tonight, Luiz was caught out defensively by De Jong; and over-committed on the late chance by Marveaux. He spent a good part of the match advancing forward at any opportunity, knowing that Matic would position himself in his role.
LB: Azpilicueta 7.5/10
Although Azpi is not as offensively minded as the likes of Ashley Cole is, his defensive minded approach brought balance to the team as a whole today.
CDM: Lampard 8/10
After sitting in the match against City, Lampard was given the full ninety tonight to impose himself on the match. Although he no longer has the legs of a youngster, being paired with Matic in the middle allowed Lampard more freedom. His pin point passing, and excellent distributing ability was on full display tonight.
CDM: Matic 8.5/10
Given a second consecutive start following his man of the match display against City, Matic performed superbly in the middle of the park. Sat back defensively to allow Lampard to move forward, the Serbian covered every blade of grass and disrupted passes and attacks aimed in his direction.
LM: Hazard 9.5/10
Hazard was simply magnificent all game long. His ability to run at the Newcastle back four caused havoc
CAM: Oscar 8/10
Hazard’s magic took the shine away from Oscar’s work rate this evening. The Brazilians passing carved through the Magpies midfield trio of Sissoko, Anita and Ben Arfa
RM: Willian 7.5/10
Unusually quiet game for the Brazilian, who seemed content with handing over the creative duties to countryman Oscar and Hazard. He was particularly helpful in the defensive half, as he on many occasions tracked back to suffocate any Newcastle attack.
ST: Eto’o 8/10
A very efficient seventy minutes for Eto’o who’s brilliant hold up was essential to Chelsea’s overall attack today. His sublime flick to Hazard setup the Belgian for Chelsea’ second of the game, and ended his evening by brilliantly winning a penalty for his side.
Substitutes:
ST: Demba Ba 6/10
Ba was given a twenty minute run out against his former side; however, the striker appeared very lethargic throughout his time on the pitch. Was selfish in refusing to pass on a chance he took that ended up by the corner flag.
LM: Schurrle N/A
Schurrle was introduced with 5 minutes left, allowing time for one chance which he put high and wide.
RM: Mohamed Salah 6.5/10
Handed his debut by Mourinho, Salah showed great pace and perhaps a bit over excitement as he wasted two fabulous chances.
