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Chelsea overcame an early setback to secure all three points at Stamford Bridge. Two goals from Eden Hazard and a header from Alvaro Morata saw Antonio Conte’s team brush Newcastle’s lead aside, after Dwight Gayle had put the Magpies ahead after just 12 minutes. Simon Johnson was at the Bridge on Saturday, and here is his analysis of the match…
Danny Drinkwater starting to turn Chelsea fans around
It would be an understatement to suggest many Chelsea supporters were underwhelmed when the club paid Leicester £35m for the England midfielder in August. Drinkwater's cause was not helped by suffering a calf injury soon after his arrival, meaning his debut was delayed by a couple of months. And the England international only made his first League start at Liverpool last week. Chelsea 3 Newcastle 1: Hazard and Morata secure comeback win But with £40m summer acquisition Tiemoue Bakayoko failing to shine, Drinkwater has an opportunity to become a first team regular. He was in the starting XI again today and was one of the players that helped Chelsea wake from their initial slumber. While others in blue were going through the motions, the 27-year-old pressed and harried Newcastle, earning appreciation from those in the stands.
He combined well with Cesc Fabregas too and he certainly looks good as one of the three midfielders in a 3-5-2 formation. Drinkwater can also be satisfied that he completed 90 minutes for the first time this season. England given another glimpse of what they have to worry about next June The World Cup draw paired England with Belgium yesterday, which means Eden Hazard running at Gareth Southgate's men. On the bright side, Hazard isn't some unknown that the England defenders won't have seen before - Chelsea's Gary Cahill has obviously had a very close view over the last five years.
But as Newcastle showed, there is one thing knowing what Hazard can do on the pitch, it is another being able to stop him. The 26-year-old was at his mesmeric best and crucially scored Chelsea's equaliser soon after Newcastle had taken a shock lead. It was his seventh goal in the last 10 appearances, which became eight with a cheeky penalty in the second half. England won't want to face him on this kind of form.
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