Chelsea beat Newcastle 2-1 to stay in top four
› You could see a lot of positives with the performance but no points. We had some chances but our final pass wasn’t there. RAFAEL BENITEZ, Newcastle coach
LONDON: Skilful finishes from Pedro and Willian earned Chelsea a 2-1 win over battling Newcastle United in the Premier League on Saturday, keeping the London side safely in the top four. A pinpoint lofted pass from David Luiz in the ninth minute found Pedro and the Spain forward deftly chipped the ball over Martin Dubravka into the net.
Despite Chelsea’s overwhelming possession, Newcastle enjoyed a couple of chances on the counter late in the first half and Ciaran Clark equalised from a corner in the 40th minute, squeezing his header inside Kepa Arrizabalaga’s right post.
Chelsea, though often frustrated by a mass Newcastle defence, found a way through in the 57th minute when Eden Hazard forced his way down the middle and laid off the ball to Willian who curled an exquisite shot into the top corner of the goal.
Newcastle, struggling in the relegation zone, lacked midfield quality, but made up for that in ambition. Salomon Rondon, Ayoze Perez and Christian Atsu all had chances on the break but could not find an equaliser.
“Today was very important to get points,” Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri said. “We started well but after the goal we slept for 20 minutes, so by the end of the first half we were in trouble.
“We were better in the second half. I’m very happy with result but we need to improve.”
MAN CITY RESUME TITLE QUEST
MANCHESTER: Pep Guardiola’s rejuvenated Manchester City face a potentially tricky challenge at home to Wolverhampton Wanderers on Monday as they continue their Premier League title defence. But the early days of 2019 suggest their uncharacteristic December collapse is firmly behind them.
The final month of last year saw City lose successive league games, against modest opposition in both Crystal Palace and Leicester City, following an end to their unbeaten domestic start to the campaign earlier at the beginning of December.
JAKUB’S GESTURE
KRAKOW: Poland’s Jakub Błaszczykowski will play for his country’s Wisla Krakow for free in order to help them during times of bankruptcy. The former Borussia Dortmund and Wolfsburg winger will not take any salary and will contribute around 1.3 million zloty (~2.46crore) from his pocket to help his former team. The money will be used to pay dues, as per reports in Sport Bible.