Chelsea 1-0 Newcastle

Chelsea moved into the top four as Marcos Alonso’s strike proved the difference against a battling Newcastle United side at Stamford Bridge. The Blues made it five straight wins in all competitions but had to work hard for the points as they came up against a resilient Magpies side.
It looked like it might not be Chelsea’s day as Frank Lampard’s youngsters passed up several good chances before eventually making the breakthrough in the 73rd minute via Alonso’s low drive to record a seventh successive win over Newcastle at Stamford Bridge.
Steve Bruce’s visitors actually made the brighter start and had a couple of early half chances as they attempted to pick up from where they left off following their win over Manchester United before the international break.
However, with all of Chelsea’s attacking quality, it was no surprise they created the first clear cut chance of the half, Willian missing the target with a header from close range.
Mason Mount was then given too much room inside the box as he turned and got a shot away, only for Martin Dubravka, who nearly gifted Tammy Abraham the opener when closed down from a clearance, to push the effort away.
Newcastle’s best opening came from good work by Allain Saint-Maximin as he closed down Cesar Azipilcueta before his cross found Joelinton, who couldn’t hit the target with his header on the stretch.
The chances dried up for the visitors after the break as Chelsea took a stranglehold on the game, Abraham hitting the bar with a header before flashing another opportunity over the crossbar.
Dubravka then produced a marvellous save to deny Christian Pulisic when one-on-one as it looked like it might not be the home side’s day.
However, the decisive moment eventually arrived when a low ball across the box wasn’t dealt with, arriving at the feet of Alonso, who managed to squeeze his shot past Dubravka, despite the Slovakia international getting a hand to it.
DeAndre Yedlin then produced a remarkable block to stop Abraham putting the game to bed with a second for Chelsea but Newcastle, the joint-lowest scorers in the Premier League failed to fashion a chance for an equaliser as they slipped back into the bottom three.