A brilliant victory for Newcastle United, who totally dominated Chelsea with a stunning second half display and and superb 4-1 win at St James’ Park. Here come the ratings:
Nick Pope – 6 – Didn’t move for the Sterling free kick, a little bit flat-footed. Distribution was really poor, nearly gifting Chelsea a goal with a pass straight to Gallagher, but did make one good save to deny Fernandez in the first half.
Kieran Trippier – 7 – Dominant down the right hand side and defended well. Gave away the foul for the Sterling free kick but it looked really soft. Some wayward crosses from open play but his set pieces were absolutely on point. Won six duels and hit the bar with a free kick.
Jamaal Lascelles – 7.5 – Gave away the ball away in the first half in the build up to Sterling’s free-kick and had a few lapses in possession, but headed home in the second half to send us 2-1 up. Generally defended well and didn’t let the odd giveaway impact his confidence on the ball.
Fabian Schar – 8 – Excellent showing. Brilliant on the ball, rock solid defensively and dealt with some tricky situations with ease. Makes it look easy and is a real Rolls Royce. Nearly scored with a great effort in the second half. Five duels won and two tackles summarises another top performance.
Tino Livramento – 8 – Looked at home at left-back in a such a mature defensive performance. Barely gave Cole Palmer a kick, made some good forward runs and showed a real engine to throughout. We may see the best of him on the right but it demonstrates his versatility that he can play on the left so impressively. Seven duels won, three interceptions and 97% pass completion exhibits a brilliant display.
Lewis Miley – 9 – Such an impressive display from the 17-year-old Geordie, keeping it tidy in possession and gliding around the pitch. Showed quality, composure, impressive athleticism and maturity beyond his years, with that pass through to Isak something any top midfield creator would be proud of. Stunning performance for someone so young.
Bruno Guimaraes – 9* – Top class display in the middle of the park, finding his way out of tight situations and toying with the Chelsea midfield at times. Never seemed to lose the ball and covered every blade of grass. Made every one of his 94 touches count in the middle of the pitch, pulling the strings and was always willing to get on the ball. Makes the difficult look easy and was a key reasons we won the midfield battle here.
Joelinton – 7.5 – Missed an absolute sitter in the first half with a header from point blank range and had a few loose touches early on, but he was outstanding in the second 45 and dominated a week Chelsea side. Robbed Thiago Silva for our third goal, absolutely slamming the ball into the bottom corner to send us 3-1 up.
Miguel Almiron – 8 – Wonderful pass through to Gordon for his goal and looked so sharp from the off. Was a real pest all afternoon, he set the tone from the off, caused chaos down our right and constantly got the better of Marc Cucurella. Great to see him get a well-deserved ovation from the Gallowgate End when he was taken off.
Anthony Gordon – 9 – Seems to be getting better and better every week. Drew fouls – one of which got Reece James sent off – set up Lascelles with a wonderful cross and took his goal absolutely brilliantly, breaking the offside trap with a brilliant run before firing a beautiful finish into the bottom right hand corner. That’s now five goals, three assists and two penalties won in 11 Premier League starts. What a signing.
Alexander Isak – 7 – Took his goal brilliantly, having ice running through his veins to sort his feet and slot past the helpless Sanchez. Looked sharp and showed moments of absolute brilliance with silky dribbling and wonderful link up play. Faded a little after a strong start, but it was great to see him fit again and doing what he does best.
SUBS:
Matt Ritchie – N/A – Replaced Isak after Got booked after a tussle with Mudryk. Helped us see the game out.
Paul Dummett – N/A – Played five minutes, replacing Lascelles at centre-back.
Alex Murphy – N/A – Nice to see him make his Premier League debut after an impressive pre-season, filling in at left-back for the final few minutes.
Michael Ndiweni – N/A – Another Premier League debut for the Throckley-born striker!
Amadou Diallo – N/A – Yet ANOTHER Premier League debut for the former West Ham talent. Only got one or two touches, but it was a great moment for him.
