LONDON — Cole Palmer capped an impressive display with a goal and an assist as Chelsea defeated Newcastle 3-2 in a pulsating English Premier League match.
In front of watching England manager Gareth Southgate, the 21-year-old Palmer pulled the strings in midfield for the London club.
His 11th goal this season made him the sixth Chelsea player to score in five consecutive league matches. Chelsea has not lost a league game at home in the month of March since 2001.
The result cut the four-point gap between Newcastle in 10th and Chelsea in 11th to one point.
Palmer´s goal came 12 minutes into the second half. He found space just outside the Newcastle penalty area and fired home a low shot, AP reported.
Nicolas Jackson gave the home side the lead after six minutes when he diverted a shot from Palmer past Newcastle goalkeeper Martin Dubravka. Although it lost in-form winger Anthony Gordon to injury 10 minutes before halftime, Newcastle fought back and eight minutes later got an equalizer when Alexander Isak found the net with a perfectly placed shot from 18 yards out.
Substitute Mykhailo Mudryk made it 3-1 to Chelsea in the 76th just five minutes after replacing Raheem Sterling.
Jacob Murphy got a goal back for the visitor in the 90th but his rasping strike was not enough to stop Chelsea taking all three points and prevent Newcastle from recording its first home-and-away double over the Blues since the 1986-87 season.
Howe told the BBC Gordon’s injury “looks like a knee problem and it doesn´t look too good at the moment – it is unclear.”
The injury to defender Dan Burn looked less serious, he added.
The win left Chelsea in 11th position, a point and one place behind Newcastle but with a game in hand. Another three points would push the Blues up to eighth and within sight of qualifying for the Europa League or the Europa League Conference.
Both clubs have failed to live up to the hopes of their deep-pocketed owners with Newcastle manager Eddie Howe under just as fierce a spotlight as Pochettino at Chelsea.
It was the Argentine who could breathe a sigh of relief as the home fans left Stamford Bridge singing the Bob Marley song chorus “Don’t worry about a thing”, a sign perhaps that most of them remain patient with Pochettino’s attempts to build a team from his expensive but young squad.
“We played a very good team with amazing players, it was really tough,” he told the BBC. “We made the victory, but we keep looking forward and moving forward – the most important is the three points.
“We are building something different and we need to accept it. The fans were good, we need to keep moving and being strong.”
Chelsea’s only hope of silverware now lies in the FA Cup and they have a last-eight tie against second-tier Leicester City at home. Newcastle must try to bounce back in time for their own quarter-final – a trip to Manchester City next Saturday.
Howe said he was frustrated that Newcastle was undone by sloppy defending.
“I thought we were good in lots of aspects of our play tonight,” he told talkSPORT radio. “You can’t concede goals like that, home or away, and expect to win the game, simple as that.”
