CHELSEA (4-2-3-1):
Courtois 6; Ivanovic 6, Cahill 7, Terry 7 (Baba 37, 7), Azpilicueta 7; Matic 8, FABREGAS 9; Willian 8 (Loftus-Cheek 80), Hazard 7, Pedro 8; Costa 8 (Traore 60, 7).
Subs (not used): Begovic (gk), Mikel, Kenedy, Remy.
NEWCASTLE (4-2-3-1):
5 Elliot: Couldn’t really have done much with any of the goals, and made a good save from Willian’s first-half free-kick
4 Janmaat: Never looked comfortable trying to deal with Willian, and should have tracked his man for Chelsea’s third goal
2 Taylor: A horror-show of a performance littered with errors, most notably the missed header that led to Chelsea’s fourth goal
3 Coloccini: His defending was dreadful for the majority of the game, and his lack of leadership was just as damning given his role as skipper
3 Aarons: Is being asked to play in a position that is alien to him, but that still doesn’t excuse the awful pass that led to Chelsea’s second goal
4 Tiote: Didn’t look comfortable in possession at any stage and repeatedly gave the ball away in dangerous areas of the field
4 Shelvey: Should have channelled his energies into closing players down – but instead just wanted to moan and shout at the staff on the touchline
3 Sissoko: Yet another disappointing display from a player who repeatedly goes missing on his travels – helped set up Chelsea’s third goal
3 Wijnaldum: His talent is not in question, but he is a complete liberty in games such as this – was deservedly hauled off at half-time
5 TOWNSEND: A lot of what he tried to do failed, but at least he kept plugging away and his last-minute goal was actually a cracker
4 Mitrovic: Likes to portray the image of being a hard-man, but was easily brushed aside by Terry and seemed to be in a sulk from that point on
Subs:
4 Colback (for Wijnaldum, 46): Was brought on in an attempt to shore up the midfield, but hardly helped bring about a major improvement
4 Lascelles (for Tiote, 66): His introduction resulted in a switch to a five-man backline, but Newcastle continued to look fragile in the closing stages
Doumbia (for Mitrovic, 70)
(not used): Darlow (gk), Saivet, Perez, Riviere.
Man Of The Match: CESC FABREGAS – The Spaniard has been out-of-sorts for large chunks of the season, but his form is returning at a crucial time with Chelsea due to face Paris St Germain in the Champions League tomorrow.
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