Chelsea 1-0 Newcastle United: Player ratings as Havertz wins it late for the Blues | Premier League 2021-22

Chelsea secured a marginal 1-0 victory against Newcastle United in their Premier League fixture on Sunday.The Blues dominated possession for the majority of the game, but struggled to carve goalscoring opportunities against a resilient Newcastle side.

Amid recent sanctions imposed on the club by the UK government, the lack of clarity over the club's success seemed to permeate their on-field performances.

The European Champions did not manage to put a single shot on target for the first three quarters of the game. However, they managed to grind out a result, courtesy of a 89th-minute Kai Havertz winner.

The German striker scored past Martin Dubravka with a sublime finish after controlling an inch-perfect lofted pass from Jorginho to seal the victory for the Blues. The result sees Chelsea keep their third spot intact in the Premier League table, with Arsenal a good 8 points behind, albeit with three games in hand.

On that note, here's a look at Chelsea players' ratings from the game.

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Edouard Mendy - 7/10

Mendy was largely untested for most of the game. However, he made a couple of key stops on the rare occasions he was called upon, with the highlight being a world-class save to deny Miguel Almiron in the second half.

Trevoh Chalobah - 5/10

Chalobah looked a bit rusty and made a couple of dreadful mistakes throughout the game. He was lucky not to concede an evident spot-kick for his foul on Jacob Murphy.

Andreas Christensen - 6/10

Christensen looked assured in possession, helping Chelsea with their build-up play. The centre-back looked calm and composed on the night.

Antonio Rudiger - 8/10

Rudiger was extremely solid throughout the 90 minutes. He made some brilliant runs to carry the ball forward for Chelsea and showcased astute build-up play.

Malang Sarr - 6/10

Like his fullback counterpart Chalobah, Sarr looked rather erratic throughout the evening. He was often out of position and looked a tad bit too aggressive in his challenges.

Jorginho - 7/10

Jorginho struggled to play through Newcastle's press and was largely a hindrance with his overall play. However, he made the difference with his pin-point pass for Havertz's winner.

N'Golo Kante - 6/10

Kante struggled to get to the pace of the game. He did provide a bit of energy and dynamism to the Chelsea midfield but a lack of awareness and decision-making meant he was often wasteful in possession.

Mason Mount - 5/10

Mount put in a diligent performance for the Blues. He was tidy and efficient with his link-up play. However, the midfielder struggled to create decent goalscoring opportunities all evening.

Hakim Ziyech - 6/10

Ziyech looked lively in moments, but he was rather uninvolved and uninspiring for large parts of the game.

Kai Havertz - 8/10

Havertz initially seemed to struggle, but grew into the game as it progressed. He made some good off-the-ball runs to cause problems for the Newcastle defense. He eventually scored the all-important winner in the 89th minute of the game.

Timo Werner - 3/10

Werner had one of his worst games for Chelsea and that's saying something. The German hardly ever provided himself for the ball and he looked rather unthreatening the few times he did.

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Substitutes

Romelu Lukaku - 5/10

Lukaku came on in the 64th minute to replace Werner. He was unsurprisingly uninvolved and quiet for most of his time on the pitch.

Mateo Kovacic - 6/10

Kovacic came on as a 64th-minute substitute for Mount. He slotted in seamlessly to help the Blues dictate proceedings.

Christian Pulisic - N/A

Coming on as a 78th minute replacement for Werner, Pulisic simply didn't play long enough to be properly rated.