CHELSEA (3-4-2-1):
Courtois 6; Azpilicueta 7, Christensen 8 (Cahill 80), Rudiger 6; Moses 8, Kante 6, Drinkwater 7, Alonso 7; Fabregas 7 (Bakayoko 78), HAZARD 9 (Willian 78); Morata 8.
Subs (not used): Caballero (gk), Zappacosta, Pedro, Batshuayi.
NEWCASTLE (5-4-1):
7 Darlow: Let in three goals, but made two excellent saves to deny Hazard and also produced a fine second-half stop from Alonso
5 Manquillo: Recalled at right wing-back ahead of Yedlin, but struggled to keep tabs on Alonso when he surged down the flank
4 Mbemba: Badly at fault as Morata headed home Chelsea’s second and didn’t look comfortable as part of three centre-halves
4 Lejeune: Looked all over the place whenever Morata tried to run in behind him, but was slightly unfortunate to set up Hazard’s first goal
5 Clark: The pick of Newcastle three central defenders, although that wasn’t saying a lot – struggled with Hazard’s movement
4 Ritchie: Will be hoping his unexpected appearance as a wing-back isn’t reprised – at fault for Chelsea’s second and conceded a penalty for their third
5 Murphy: Made a couple of dangerous breaks down the flank, but his delivery into the box wasn’t good enough
3 Diame: Might as well have been the invisible man as he contributed nothing – it is hard to fathom what Benitez sees in him
7 MERINO: Newcastle’s best outfield player by a distance – always looked comfortable in possession and used the ball wisely
5 Perez: Made a couple of dangerous breaks in the first half, but wasn’t really a factor for much of the game
6 Gayle: Kept his cool to roll home Newcastle’s goal – didn’t do a lot else, but has now scored at Manchester United and Chelsea
Subs:
5 Hayden (for Perez, 61): Didn’t look especially comfortable playing on the left, and was unable to alter the pattern of the game
Shelvey (for Diame, 75)
Yedlin (for Merino, 85)
(not used): Elliot (gk), Aarons, Joselu, Mitrovic.
Man Of The Match: EDEN HAZARD – England will come up against the mercurial Belgian midfielder in next summer’s World Cup – it is to be hoped they fare rather better against him than Newcastle did.
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