Newcastle 0-2 Chelsea: Blues go top of the Premier League temporarily

Chelsea moved top of the Premier League for the first time under Frank Lampard - for a few hours - with a routine 2-0 victory at Newcastle on Saturday.

Federico Fernandez's early own goal gave Chelsea the lead at St. James' Park before Timo Werner's stunning assist set up Tammy Abraham to seal the points midway through the second half.

Newcastle, who remain 13th, hit the bar through Sean Longstaff after Abraham's strike but were well off the pace throughout as they slipped to back-to-back defeats for the first time this season.

Chelsea's fifth consecutive victory extended their unbeaten run in all competitions to 12 games and lifted them briefly to the summit until Tottenham - whom they play live on Sky Sports next Sunday - beat Manchester City later in the day.

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How Chelsea cruised on Tyneside

Chelsea's international players showed little sign of fatigue as they raced into an early lead at St. James' Park.

Karl Darlow prevented Werner and Abraham from breaking the deadlock with two fine saves inside the opening 10 minutes, but the Newcastle goalkeeper was helpless when Fernandez bundled Mason Mount's cross into his own net while under pressure from Ben Chilwell.

Fernandez and Newcastle appealed for a push in the build-up, but a VAR check found no infringement from Chilwell, and the goal was allowed to stand as the centre-back registered his fifth Premier League own goal since making his debut in the competition in 2014.

Newcastle's reluctance to engage Chelsea saw the visitors assume complete control of the contest, and they should have doubled their lead on the half-hour mark when Werner dragged a gilt-edge opportunity wide after Abraham had released him through on goal.

N'Golo Kante's brilliant block prevented Allan Saint-Maximin from restoring parity as Newcastle grew as the interval approached, but Chelsea kept the hosts at arm's length.

Fabian Schar replaced the injured Jamaal Lascelles at half-time and endured a torrid time as Werner tormented the Newcastle defence.

The Switzerland international was let off the hook after having his pocket picked by Werner, who opted to square for Hakim Ziyech instead of shooting and allowed the covering Newcastle defence to break up the move.

Kurt Zouma nodded a header wide as Chelsea pushed for a game-clinching second, and it came in stunning fashion on 65 minutes.

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Werner burst through the Newcastle midfield with a stunning 75-yard break that left Schar trailing in his wake before slotting Abraham in behind for him to score for the third game running.

Longstaff's stunning 30-yard drive which rattled the woodwork failed to inspire a late Newcastle comeback on an afternoon which belonged to Chelsea from the first whistle.

Opta stats - Chelsea on the up

• Chelsea have won 26 Premier League games against Newcastle United - only versus Tottenham Hotspur (30) have they won more games in the competition.
• Newcastle have lost five of their last seven home matches in the Premier League (W2), as many as in the previous 25.
• Newcastle manager Steve Bruce has won just two of his 24 Premier League games as manager against Chelsea (D5 L17), losing eight of his last nine such encounters (W1).
• Édouard Mendy has registered seven clean sheets in his nine appearances for Chelsea in all competitions, with today's shutout his fourth in five Premier League games.
• Chelsea have kept three consecutive away clean sheets in the Premier League for the first time since October 2018.
• Timo Werner has been directly involved in 11 goals in his last 10 appearances in all competitions (8 goals, 3 assists).

What the managers said…

Newcastle manager Steve Bruce: "We had one or two opportunities but didn't take them. Maybe in the first half we were a little too deep at times. They're a very, very good side and like I said, when you go high up the pitch, they can really hurt you. There will always be grumbles. We had some important players missing. But Chelsea are a very good team. We had three good opportunities, and against the big teams, you've got to take them."

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Chelsea boss Frank Lampard: "It's not an easy game. We played well in patches and the result is key in these games. The Premier League is tough, relentless, and we dealt with the challenge of the game very well. I won't get excited about being top of the table for five minutes. It's important to be humble and know it's a long race."

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Man of the Match - Tammy Abraham

Timo Werner would have landed this award had he converted any of the chances that came his way, but Tammy Abraham's increasingly clinical streak in front of goal deserves merit.

Since the start of last season, Tammy Abraham has scored 23 goals in all competitions, 11 more than any other Chelsea player.

What's next?

Live Renault Super Sunday

Newcastle travel to Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Friday at 8pm. Chelsea head to Rennes in the group stages of the Champions League on Tuesday at 5.55pm, before hosting Tottenham on Super Sunday at 4.30pm - live on Sky Sports Premier League.

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