Chelsea vs Newcastle match report: Blues on fire as Diego Costa sparks rout

Chelsea 5 Newcastle 1

A masked Diego Costa slides Chelsea into the lead after only five minutes at Stamford Bridge (Getty Images)

Chelsea look like the champions they are again, Pedro looks like the player he was at Barcelona again but yesterday that might have had something to do with the fact that woeful Newcastle United look like prime candidates for relegation again. Steve McClaren’s side made this win so easy for Chelsea, although there was one complication after John Terry went off injured in the first half.

The Chelsea captain was involved in an early collision with Aleksandar Mitrovic and is a doubt for Tuesday’s Champions League round of 16 match at Paris Saint-Germain. Otherwise, this was the perfect preparation for that game as the Blues finally began to purr again.

Diego Costa and Willian were both brilliant again, scoring one each, but it was Pedro who soared above everyone by hitting twice.

This win made it two months unbeaten for Chelsea – their last defeat was in Jose Mourinho’s last match, 2-1 away at Leicester City – but this was still Guus Hiddink’s first home win in the league.

If Chelsea’s form is still somewhat patchy, that has not been the case with Costa. In just the fifth minute, the Spain striker hit his eighth goal in 11 games, and his classic striker’s finish bore all the characteristics of a player performing with confidence.

Costa may be wearing a mask, but he was not hiding, relentlessly chasing down everything throughout the game. The wonder here was how Newcastle’s defence did not do more to chase Willian. The playmaker turned Cheick Tioté and just strode through the opposition half so easily. That kind of haplessness was a sign of things to come from Newcastle, as Costa then turned Willian’s pass past goalkeeper Rob Elliot to make it 1-0.

From that point, it seemed certain to get a lot worse for McClaren’s side in terms of the scoreline, but staggeringly their overall play also got worse. The second goal – coming just four minutes later – was a case study in atrocious play, even if Pedro’s sprint and finish were brilliant.

From Newcastle’s corner, the ball was cleared to the halfway line and Steven Taylor gave the Spanish winger a clear run on goal by playing a terrible pass straight into his path. Pedro had himself thundered forward from his own box, but he finished the move with a precise low finish into the corner from distance.

Newcastle were all over the place and, by the 17th minute, Chelsea again capitalised to make it 3-0. Costa returned the earlier favour for Willian, being afforded the space to play a precise ball across the box for the Brazilian to slide the ball past Elliot from close range.

Chelsea were by now enjoying themselves, and Branislav Ivanovic began displaying his technique in the Newcastle box, while Terry tried to score from a flick. The captain had not recovered from his earlier collision with Mitrovic, however, and went off after 37 minutes, to be replaced by Baba Rahman. It did not look good when Terry went straight down the tunnel.


 John Terry was forced off shortly before the break
 (2016 Getty Images)

Chelsea had one eye on Tuesday’s match as Newcastle even launched some attacks at the start of the second half. Typically, however, they ended up conceding the next goal. Again, despite the quality of Chelsea’s attacking moves, so much of it was down to Newcastle’s lack of defensive structure. Cesc Fabregas was afforded the freedom of the midfield, just as Willian had been in the first half, and that allowed the Catalan to pick his pass precisely. He played an arching ball over for Pedro, who took it down expertly and slid it past Elliot.

A near-perfect performance then had the near-perfect ending, as 20-year-old youth graduate Bertrand Traoré came off the bench to score his first goal for the club.

Andros Townsend did slightly spoil it for the home fans with a fine consolation goal – his first since his £12m move from Tottenham – and Chelsea must hope their week isn’t spoiled by injury to their captain.

Teams

Chelsea: (4-2-3-1) Courtois; Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry (Baba, 37), Azpilicueta; Matic, Fabregas; Hazard, Willian (Loftus-Cheek, 80), Pedro; Costa (Traoré, 60).

Newcastle: (4-2-3-1) Elliot; Janmaat, Taylor, Coloccini, Aarons; Shelvey, Tioté; Sissoko, Wijnaldum (Colback, 45), Townsend; Mitrovic (Doumbia, 70).

Referee: Roger East

Man of the match: Willian (Chelsea)

Match rating: 7/10