A 3–0 win away from home was just the sort of tonic that Chelsea and their beleaguered boss Andre Villas-Boas needed ahead of their do-or-die Champions League clash with Valencia next week.
Goals from Didier Drogba, Salomon Kalou, and Daniel Sturridge made certain that all three points went to the London club, though the score did flatter the visitors with two of the goals coming in the last three minutes, while Newcastle hit the woodwork several times.
The afternoon began with a heartfelt tribute to Welsh international Gary Speed who graced St James Park for six and a half years during which time he made 285 appearances for the Magpies, scoring 40 goals. “Speedo” was currently manager of the Welsh national side and a mere 42 years of age when he committed suicide last weekend.
Game On
Jonás Gutiérrez was suspended following his dismissal at Old Trafford last weekend so the Dane Peter Lovenkrands was given a start for Newcastle. Raul Meireles gave way for Frank Lampard in the Chelsea line-up, with Sturridge retaining his place at the expense of the hapless Fernando Torres.
The first major incident of an action-packed encounter took place with only six minutes on the clock. Newcastle striker Demba Ba was hauled down by David Luiz just outside the penalty area with no Chelsea defenders other than goalkeeper Petr Cech in sight.
As the last outfield defender, Luiz should have received a straight red card but amazingly, he was only booked. Ryan Taylor fired the subsequent fee kick into the wall so Chelsea survived unscathed when they could easily have been a man and a goal down.
Most of Chelsea’s best moments going forward came when Sturridge had the chance to run at Taylor. The player who spent last season on loan at Bolton clearly had a leg up on the Newcastle left back and proceeded to give him a torrid time.
On 13 minutes, having left Taylor for dead, Sturridge surged into the box only to be felled by Yohan Cabaye. A penalty was given to the Blues, but the outstanding Tim Krul made a good left-handed save tipping Lampard’s spot kick onto the post and away to safety. Truth be told, Krul was off his line but Chelsea players also encroached into the 18-yard box in a penalty kick that could’ve been retaken.
Sturridge continued to be a handful, testing the Premier League’s most improved keeper several times and also hitting the post—all in the space of about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, at the other end a lovely flick from Ba brought the very best out of Petr Cech.
Deadlock Broken
The deadlock was finally broken at the 38-minute mark thanks to a touch of class from Juan Mata. It was almost the first time we had seen the Spaniard, with most of Chelsea’s attacking thrust having been on the other side of the park.
From Ashley Cole’s throw-in, Mata executed a delightful turn and cross from the left and Drogba dispatched a powerful header into the Newcastle net. The space Drogba was allowed was due in no small part to the fact that Magpies’ skipper Fabricio Coloccini had recently departed with a thigh injury.
The second half was as open as the first with chances coming thick and fast at both ends. In fact, Drogba should have extended Chelsea’s lead but hit the side netting, and then minutes later headed against his own crossbar when trying to clear.
In the absence of Coloccini, and then later Steven Taylor, the Newcastle defense that has looked so solid throughout the season was now distinctly porous and Krul made a few more impressive saves to keep the Blues at bay.
Newcastle Get Chances, Get Exposed
Before the start of play Chelsea had leaked 17 goals in the Premier League against 8 at the same time last season. It was their worst goals against tally at this stage for 11 years. It was no surprise therefore, that Newcastle had several more chances to get on the score sheet.
However, it was not to be their day as the woodwork came to Chelsea’s rescue three times, and John Terry was called on to clear off the line from substitute Shola Ameobi.
As Newcastle sought that elusive equalizer, they left ever larger holes at the back and finally in the 89th minute Kalou made the game safe for the visitors. Then in the second minute of stoppage time Sturridge finally hit the back of the net instead of Krul.
Sturridge was deservedly voted man of the match. In an interview with Fox Sports he attributed the victory to the fact that, “We worked hard as a team.” He refused to talk about a Chelsea revival, merely stating, “We showed we can win games and keep a clean sheet.”
Truth be told, they were extraordinarily lucky to keep that clean sheet and will need to tighten up considerably if they are to mount a serious challenge for the Premier League title or make further progress in Europe.
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