Coach Enzo Maresca made some changes to his squad compared to the loss to Liverpool in the previous round. Fofana and Neto started in place of Tosin and Jadon Sancho. On the wings, Reece James and Malo Gusto were still trusted, with James playing on the left wing, which is not his forte.
Newcastle have been in a slump lately, scoring just three goals in their last five games. As a result, the visitors were forced to play in the first half. In the fourth minute, Cole Palmer scored against Nick Pope after a pass from Jackson. After a VAR check, the referee disallowed Chelsea's goal.
However, the home team did not wait long to take the lead. In the 18th minute, Palmer made a smart pass for Neto to sprint down the left wing, before crossing for Jackson to easily tap in the goal. The Senegalese striker is still maintaining very impressive form for Chelsea.
Newcastle did not play very impressively in the first half. However, they took advantage of a moment of Chelsea's weakness to equalize. In the 32nd minute, Lewis Hall passed the ball beautifully for Isak to equalize 1-1. The referee took a moment to check VAR before awarding the goal to the away team.
Chelsea took the lead early in the second half. After a midfield fight, Lavia stole the ball and passed it to Palmer. The Chelsea star comfortably held the ball before unleashing a dangerous shot, beating Nick Pope.
Soon after, the home team had a great chance to increase the gap. Madueke crossed the ball conveniently for Neto to head, but the ball hit the away team's post.
Chelsea's attack played well, but in defense, their defenders and goalkeeper were not solid. Newcastle increased the pressure and Chelsea struggled to cope.
The visitors created many chances to equalize, but they did not take advantage of them. Most notably, in the 74th minute, Isak tricked goalkeeper Sanchez but hesitated to finish, missing the opportunity to score.
Towards the end of the match, Chelsea came back to press the pitch. In the 90th minute, Nkunku was fouled by Dan Burn in the penalty area. The referee awarded Chelsea a penalty but overturned the decision after checking VAR.
Result Chelsea 2-1 Newcastle, with this victory Chelsea has 17 points, standing at the top of the rankings. Meanwhile, Newcastle has 12 points.
