Chelsea were up against Steve Bruce’s Newcastle on Saturday afternoon in which provided to be a test of patience for The Blues. After a scrappy first half where few chances were created, Chelsea took home all three points after a left foot drive from Marcus Alonso, in a much improved second-half performance.

As many people predicted, Newcastle came into the game with clear tactics of sitting deep and trying to hit Chelsea on the break. Steve Bruce’s well drilled team frustrated Chelsea from the start and dealt with the attacking threats of Abraham and Mount who struggled to string passes together and create any clear-cut chances. Hudson-Odoi caused problems on the left-wing all game and should have had an assist, after his delicious cross was met by Willian who couldn’t direct the cross on target from six yards out. Willian is not known for his heading ability, but he should have converted from such close range. Newcastle didn’t provide much of an attacking threat with Joelinton left isolated for much of the game. That all being said, Bruce would have been the happier of the two managers at Half-time.

From the restart, Chelsea looked lively and quicker in transition than the first half. Newcastle struggled to keep the onslaught at bay and were forced into some last-minute tackles and blocks. Hudson-Odoi kept Yedlin busy all afternoon and Willian was penetrating the heart of Newcastle’s defence with some darting runs at every opportunity. Abraham hit the crossbar from a corner and it just felt like a matter of time before Newcastle’s resolve broke. That moment came in the 72^nd minute after Lampard made a couple of subs which saw Pulisic and Kovacic replace Mount and Barkley. Pulisic drove at the Newcastle defence before finding Hudson-Odoi in the penalty area, Hudson-Odoi than rolled the ball to Alonso whose first-time effort was too much for Dúbravka as it flew into the bottom corner. Stamford Bridge erupted and the points were sealed. Abraham had a gift of an opportunity to make it two soon after, but the score remained at one thanks to a brilliant goal-line clearance from Yedlin.  The remaining twenty minutes saw Chelsea see out the game with only a few chances conceded to Newcastle’s route one style of football. With this result, Chelsea move into the top four and are only two points behind Man city.