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.