Sunday’s contest was a very scrappy one where Chelsea played well enough to deserve the win, but still narrowly escaped with all three points. Nevertheless, in the end, it was a magical pass from Jorginho and an outrageous goal from Kai Havertz in the dying minutes of the match that sealed the victory. The Blues were focused, despite everything going on around the club lately, and delivered something positive for the fans in attendance at Stamford Bridge.
Here are three lessons we learnt in Chelsea’s 1-0 victory over Newcastle at the weekend:
1. Kai Havertz, that was amazing
The game demanded a moment of magic and Havertz delivered one in superstar style. While there have been many arguments as to the German’s ability to produce the goods during his time in SW6, this game surely silenced them all. When Jorginho sent the ball into the box, Havertz made the run in behind the defense, and he had a couple of options to finish the chance. However, he chose the most difficult of actions: control the ball with delicacy and immediately finish with a pinpoint accurate touch. If this was not the highest level of class, I’d love for someone to find me a goal that is in the aforementioned class.
The touch and finish aside, Havertz was arguably the best attacking player on the field. The German wunderkind ran up and down and side-to-side to recover, create and score throughout the match. His interplay with the rest of the attackers was as fluent as it could be and he always looked the most likely to score. Havertz was deserving of his goal after all of his hard work.
2. Chelsea can keep a cool head
Despite being a scrappy game where quality was not entirely present, Chelsea managed to keep a cool head, stick to the game plan and eventually get the win. This was a more difficult game to play for the Blues than it was for Newcastle given all of the news, sanctions and uncertainties surrounding their club at the moment. However, the boys in blue played the game to their best of the abilities and came out with a deserved victory. The defense did not commit any rash challenges, the midfield was organized and the attack was producing movement and openings.
It also did not help that Newcastle were just as unpolished, but for different reasons. However, the opposition pressured Chelsea in every way possible. For starters, the Newcastle’s attack persisted on a high press when the Blues played out from the back. This could have ended badly as any of the Blues’ defenders could have had a lapse in focus, which could have a turned into a poor reaction. In the end, Chelsea dealt with all of Newcastle’s pressure tactics expertly and even controlled most aspects of the game. Similar to the match against Crystal Palace a few weeks back, it was not always pretty, but the points are the same nonetheless.
3. High intensity was key
From an objective point of view, this was an interesting match, mainly because of Chelsea’s high intensity passing, transitioning and attack. When the Blues had possession, the ball was hardly ever recycled back to the defense and there was positive movement in the opposition’s half. On the other hand, Newcastle pressed on specific occasions and defended the rest of the game.
It could have been comfortable to pass for passing sake, but the Blues only had one objective: get the ball into the other half of the pitch quickly. This was key to team’s win as the team found itself in good position to score on numerous occasions—or at least unbalance the opposition’s defense. Everyone contributed to this fact as players sought openings time and time again. In the end, it was an incredible pass from Jorginho that opened the scoring and gave Chelsea the win. But, if not for everyone’s urgency and willingness, the game could have ended differently.
What are some of your key takeaways from the victory at Stamford Bridge? Let us know your thoughts in the comments or on Twitter!