A Joe Willock bullet was enough for Newcastle to defeat Chelsea 1-0 at St. James’ Park. The Magpies put in another top performance to pick up their sixth straight win including Wednesday’s Carabao Cup victory.
Eddie Howe kept with his starting eleven after the scoreless first half. The hosts started the second half brightly with a bulk of the possession early.
Newcastle had a couple of excellent chances five minutes in. Joelinton nodded a cross to the back post into the area. Edouard Mendy blocked Longstaff’s shot while Bruno’s rebound effort was also blocked. In a second attack, Longstaff put his shot over the crossbar.
In the 58th minute, Newcastle built up their attack resulting in a delightful cross from Willock down the left. The ball was there for the taking inside the six-yard box but just beyond the reach of Wood’s sliding attempt to make contact.
Chelsea forced Pope into a fantastic save a few minutes later. After a wonderful challenge on Christian Pulisic by Trippier, Newcastle lost possession deep. Conor Gallagher pushed up the pitch before launching an effort for the far corner. Pope made a diving save to push the ball around for a corner.
Newcastle got the breakthrough in the 68th minute. Almiron ran onto a looping long ball and immediately cut inside. His touch was slightly too heavy but Willock was there to hit a bullet past Mendy into the back of the net to make it 1-0.
Chelsea made a triple change and started to apply immediate pressure. Howe went to the bench in the 75th minute with Callum Wilson making his entrance. The England striker came on for Wood who put in a vigorous display at the top of the pitch.
Pope made another crucial stop as he dropped down to prevent Marc Cucurella’s cross from doing any damage. Newcastle have sat back since the goal with Chelsea pushing to find an equalizer.
Howe brought Willock off for Murphy in the 85th minute which moved Joelinton into the midfield. A couple of minutes later Matt Targett came on for Botman who put in a bruising performance. Burn moved to center-back.
Newcastle withheld Chelsea’s push with the referee adding a ridiculous 9 minutes of extra time. The win pushes the winning streak to six straight and keeps Newcastle in third for the World Cup break.
