Goals from Pedro and Willian helped guide Chelsea to a 2-1 win over Newcastle United in the Premier League on Saturday.
The Spaniard opened the scoring in the ninth minute at Stamford Bridge before Ciaran Clark equalised from a corner five minutes before the break.
Willian then scored what proved to be the winner with an excellent strike in the 57th minute.
Here, we rate the performances of the Chelsea players.
STARTING XI (4-3-3)
Kepa Arrizzabalaga – Barely involved apart from picking the ball out of his net the one time. 5
Cesar Azpilicueta – Weak defending in the air against Salomon Rondon nearly resulted in a late equaliser. Good runs forward though, one of which helped stretch the defence and create space for Pedro to steal in and bag the opener. 6
Antonio Rudiger – Calm and assured as always and looked comfortable on the ball. 6
David Luiz – Impressive in possession with his Hollywood passes taking centre-stage, assisting the opener. Suspect defensively though and was at fault for Newcastle’s goal. 6
Marcos Alonso – Provided good support in attack but was also solid defensively. 6
N’Golo Kante – Covered plenty of ground and pressed high up the pitch. Set up Pedro with a big chance in a second half counter-attack. 6
Jorginho – Didn’t see an obscene amount of the ball but provided three key passes. Also made four tackles. 6
Mateo Kovacic – Just a passenger really. Didn’t offer much in attack or defence. 5
Willian – Shifted the ball and curled it into the far corner in the blink of an eye for the winner. Threatened throughout. 7
Eden Hazard – A quiet display as he was often crowded out but ended up with a modest assist for Willian. 6
Pedro – Best player on the day. Broke the deadlock with a great run, control and finish. Should’ve had at least one more having gotten in a couple more times. 8
SUBSTITUTES
Ross Barkley (63′) – Like Kovacic who he replaced, played a bunch of safe passes and didn’t really make an impact. 5
Callum Hudson-Odoi (81′) – Looked lively when he came on but wasn’t afforded much time on the pitch. N/A
Olivier Giroud (87′) – Introduced with minutes to play. N/A
