Newcastle 1-0 Chelsea: Chelsea to third straight Premier League defeat

Joe Willock stunning strike earned Newcastle a 1-0 victory over Chelsea at St James' Park this evening, and Newcastle United have moved back up to third place in the Premier League table.

Neither goalkeeper was troubled unduly during a lacklustre first half, with Miguel Almiron volleying over at one end and Armando Broja forcing a routine save at the other as the opening 45 minutes ended predictably goalless.

Chelsea really struggled to find any first half momentum, registering just a sole shot across the opening 45 minutes and leaving Graham Potter with questions to answer at Half Time.

The Blues boss thought he could change the flow of the game with a substitution at the break, but it perhaps didn’t play out the way he had hoped at first, with Sean Longstaff spurning two glorious opportunities to fire Newcastle ahead in the early stages of the second half.

The Magpies eventually bore the fruit of their pressure shortly after the hour mark, and while the man of the moment Almirón was involved, it was Joe Willock who stepped forward to curl home a sumptuous effort in front of the Gallowgate End. 

Chelsea’s response was relatively muted despite Potter throwing one last roll of the dice with a triple substitution in the wake of Newcastle’s goal, as the Blues slumped to a third successive league defeat for the first time since November 2015 when José Mourinho was at the helm.

Eddie Howe's side are temporarily just four points adrift of leaders Arsenal, although that gap could grow back to seven when the Gunners face Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday evening.

Chelsea, meanwhile, slump to a third successive league defeat and a fifth Premier League game in a row without a win, leaving them eighth in the table with five defeats now from their opening 14 outings.

It is also four defeats in five games for Graham Potter's side across all competitions as they head into the mid-season break on their worst run of form since 2015.