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Chelsea consolidated their place at the top of the Premier League table as a second-half burst inspired them to a 3-0 win over Newcastle United. Reece James scored two stunning goals to give the Blues a two-goal lead before Jorginho's 81st-minute penalty sealed the outcome of the game.
Newcastle were the second-best side in the game for the most part, but managed to keep the game goalless till half-time. They had little to offer in attack, recording only one shot on target.
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Patience proved to be a virtue for Thomas Tuchel's men, who offered a lot of threat going forward, but lacked the decisive touch in the final third. With another clean sheet, though, Chelsea have made an early statement in the title race.
The win could not have come at a better time, as second-placed Liverpool and third-placed Manchester City dropped points on the day. The sequence of results mean Chelsea are three points ahead of Liverpool.
On that note, here's a look at five talking points from the game.
#5 Chelsea's attackers impressed without finding the back of the net
Callum Hudson-Odoi had a good outing for Chelsea, and had more key passes than anyone else on the pitch.
Starting as an attacking midfielder behind Kai Havertz, he caused a lot of problems for the Newcastle defenders. Havertz made some good runs, but was caught offside on a few occasions. His biggest contribution in the game was when he was tripped by Karl Darlow, which led to a penalty leading to the third goal of the game.
While none of Chelsea's attackers got on the scoresheet, Havertz and Odoi were involved in the build-up of many chances. Hakim Ziyech, though, was the only player who disappointed in the final third. He failed to make the most of just his second start of the campaign, and will likely be demoted to the bench soon.
#4 Jorginho reached historic milestone amid Ballon d'Or hype
Jorginho was having a pretty routine outing for Chelsea against Newcastle. He was not involved much in either attack or defence apart from a few silky passes in the first half.
The Italian midfielder was then called upon to take a penalty in the 81st minute, with the Blues having a two-goal cushion. He did not disappoint from the spot,, drilling his effort right down the middle as Darlow dived towards one of the posts. In the process, Jorginho became the first player in the Premier League to score ten consecutive goals from the spot.
Jorginho is one of the Ballon d'Or 2021 favourites, having won the Champions League with Chelsea last season and Euro 2020 with Italy.
#3 Chelsea allowed no space to Newcastle's attackers
Chelsea have thrived in a three-at-the-back system, and have turned their defence into a strength. Having two attack-minded full-backs could be a problem for teams. But the presence of N'Golo Kante and Jorginho in the middle provides great cover for James and Ben Chilwell's decisive runs.
Against Newcastle, The Blues operated fluidly. Despite Chelsea having just three players at the back for most of the game, they were solid defensively. Antonio Rudiger also joined in the attack on a couple of occasions.
Newcastle's best chances came from set-pieces. They had just 20% possession, and could manage only a single shot on target all game.
#2 Chelsea's Edouard Mendy registered another clean sheet
Chelsea were without some of their best-attacking players for the game. Romelu Lukaku, Mason Mount and Timo Werner were all missing from the teamsheet. So the defenders had to be on the top of their game, and they did not disappoint.
Thiago Silva, Rudiger and Andreas Christensen provided a good cover to Edouard Mendy, who only had to face a single shot on target all game.
This was the seventh clean sheet for the reigning Champions League winners. Chelsea now have the best defensive record across Europe's top five leagues, with only Napoli at par with them, having conceding only three goals in ten games.
#1 Reece James delivered a match-winning performance
Reece James delivered a great second-half performance. He scored not one but two great goals to give Chelsea a two-goal lead.
Hudson-Odoi was the architect of the first goal. His cross deflected into the way of James, who took a touch to bring the ball onto his left foot before unleashing an unstoppable strike into the back of the bet.
Just 12 minutes later, James found the back of the net again from a similar position. He was at the end of another rebound, and hammered in another powerful strike into the back of the net.
James has now made six goal contributions across competitions for the Blues this season.
With three league strikes, he is Chelsea's top goalscorer in the competition this season. James will hope to build on that as the season progresses.
