Chelsea snatched a dramatic winner against Newcastle in the first game at Stamford Bridge since Blues’ Russian owner Roman Abramovich was sanctioned by the UK government.
The game looked to be heading towards a goalless draw before Kai Havertz expertly controlled a ball forward and fired into the net in the 88th minute.
It was a tough goal to concede for Newcastle who had wanted Havertz to be sent off in the first half for catching Dan Burn in the face with an elbow when jumping, but the German only received a booking.
Before the goal, both sides had struggled to create clear-cut chances, with Chelsea taking 75 minutes to produce an effort on target.
Newcastle’s Miguel Almiron had earlier forced a fine save from home goalkeeper Edouard Mendy with a well-struck 25-yard volley and Burn headed just wide.
Just as had happened in Chelsea’s 3-1 away win over Norwich on Thursday, a small section of fans chanted Abramovich’s name, for a brief period in the second half.
Abramovich has been sanctioned as a part of the government’s response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, meaning his assets, including Chelsea Football Club, have been frozen.
A good end to a tough week for Chelsea and Tuchel
Chelsea stay third, but are now only seven points behind second-placed Liverpool and 10 adrift of leaders Manchester City. Meanwhile, Newcastle, beaten for the first time in nine Premier League matches, drop to 14th, but are 10 points clear of the relegation zone
The relief and delight shown from Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel, both at the goal and again at the final whistle, showed what this meant to him by screaming at the fans and punching the air.
And it was easy to see why he was so emotional with the club’s very existence potentially under threat.
Abramovich has been the Chelsea owner for nearly 19 years, a period in which they have won 21 trophies, including the Premier League on five occasions and the Champions League twice.
But the current sanctions against him have stopped him selling Chelsea, and mean the club are unable to buy or sell players, cannot sell any more tickets for games, have had their bank accounts suspended and have had to close the club shop.
The government said it would issue a special licence that allowed fixtures to be fulfilled, staff to be paid and existing ticket holders to attend matches, although the club’s wage bill stands at £28m a month.
More to follow.
Player of the match
BurnDan Burn
Chelsea
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Squad number29Player nameHavertzAverage rating
6.27
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Squad number7Player nameKantéAverage rating
6.20
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Squad number16Player nameMendy
Average rating5.96
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Squad number2Player nameRüdiger
Average rating5.91
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Squad number19Player nameMount
Average rating5.77
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Squad number8Player nameKovacic
Average rating5.74
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Squad number22Player nameZiyech
Average rating5.61
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Squad number14Player nameChalobah
Average rating5.61
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Squad number4Player nameChristensen
Average rating5.58
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Squad number10Player namePulisic
Average rating5.56
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Squad number5Player nameJorginho
Average rating5.45
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Squad number31Player nameSarr
Average rating5.19
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Squad number11Player nameWerner
Average rating5.18
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Squad number9Player nameLukaku
Average rating4.89
Newcastle United
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Squad number33Player nameBurn
Average rating7.28
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Squad number39Player nameBruno Guimarães
Average rating7.04
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Squad number13Player nameTargett
Average rating7.00
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Squad number5Player nameSchär
Average rating6.87
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Squad number1Player nameDúbravka
Average rating6.75
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Squad number36Player nameS Longstaff
Average rating6.60
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Squad number23Player nameMurphy
Average rating6.59
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Squad number20Player nameWood
Average rating6.58
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Squad number10Player nameSaint-Maximin
Average rating6.50
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Squad number19Player nameManquillo
Average rating6.50
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Squad number24Player nameAlmirón
Average rating6.49
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Squad number6Player nameLascelles
Average rating6.20
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Squad number21Player nameFraser
Average rating5.26
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Squad number34Player nameGayle
Average rating4.66
Line-ups
Chelsea
Formation 4-3-3
- 16Mendy
- 14Chalobah
- 4Christensen
- 2RüdigerBooked at 90mins
- 31SarrSubstituted forPulisicat 78′minutes
- 7Kanté
- 5Jorginho
- 19MountSubstituted forKovacicat 63′minutesBooked at 87mins
- 22ZiyechBooked at 58mins
- 29HavertzBooked at 39mins
- 11WernerSubstituted forLukakuat 63′minutes
Substitutes
- 1Arrizabalaga
- 3Alonso
- 6Thiago Silva
- 8Kovacic
- 9Lukaku
- 10Pulisic
- 12Loftus-Cheek
- 17Saúl
- 18Barkley
Newcastle
Formation 5-4-1
- 1Dúbravka
- 19ManquilloSubstituted forGayleat 90+1′minutesBooked at 90mins
- 6Lascelles
- 5Schär
- 33Burn
- 13Targett
- 24AlmirónSubstituted forSaint-Maximinat 69′minutes
- 39Guimarães Rodriguez MouraBooked at 80mins
- 36S Longstaff
- 23MurphyBooked at 50minsSubstituted forFraserat 90+1′minutes
- 20Wood
Substitutes
- 3Dummett
- 10Saint-Maximin
- 11Ritchie
- 17Krafth
- 21Fraser
- 26Darlow
- 29Gillespie
- 34Gayle
- 50De Bolle
- Referee:
- David Coote
- Attendance:
- 40,026
Match Stats
Live Text
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Match ends, Chelsea 1, Newcastle United 0.
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Second Half ends, Chelsea 1, Newcastle United 0.
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N’Golo Kanté (Chelsea) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
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Foul by Matt Targett (Newcastle United).
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Attempt saved. Kai Havertz (Chelsea) right footed shot from the right side of the box is saved in the top centre of the goal. Assisted by N’Golo Kanté.
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Dwight Gayle (Newcastle United) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
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Jorginho (Chelsea) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
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Foul by Dwight Gayle (Newcastle United).
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Substitution, Newcastle United. Ryan Fraser replaces Jacob Murphy.
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Substitution, Newcastle United. Dwight Gayle replaces Javier Manquillo.
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Antonio Rüdiger (Chelsea) is shown the yellow card.
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Goal! Chelsea 1, Newcastle United 0. Kai Havertz (Chelsea) left footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom left corner. Assisted by Jorginho with a through ball.
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Offside, Chelsea. Mateo Kovacic tries a through ball, but Romelu Lukaku is caught offside.
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Mateo Kovacic (Chelsea) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
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Foul by Mateo Kovacic (Chelsea).
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Bruno Guimarães (Newcastle United) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Attempt saved. Fabian Schär (Newcastle United) header from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Matt Targett with a cross.
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Foul by Hakim Ziyech (Chelsea).
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Matt Targett (Newcastle United) wins a free kick on the left wing.
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Foul by N’Golo Kanté (Chelsea).
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