Kai Havertz struck late to seal Chelsea a late 1-0 win against a resilient Newcastle side in the Premier League at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
The Blues failed to register a shot on target until the 75th minute when Hakim Ziyech picked out Havertz with a wonderful cross, but the German headed straight at Martin Dubravka in Chelsea’s best opportunity of the match.
There was nothing to separate the sides in the first half where Newcastle had the better of the chances. Dan Burn glanced a header wide of the mark before Miguel Almiron forced a fine reaction save from Edouard Mendy on the stroke of half-time.
Both sides had penalty shouts waved away in the second half. Jacob Murphy went down under a challenge from Trevoh Chalobah before Dubravka fouled Timo Werner, who was offside. Both sides made attacking changes as the game wore on, but it was Havertz who grabbed the winner, latching onto an exquisite aerial ball from Jorginho, taking the pass down and slotting the ball into the far corner of the net
Tuchel’s men switch their focus to the Champions League on Wednesday evening when they travel to Lille, looking to build on a two-goal advantage and book their place in the quarter-finals. As for Newcastle, they are back on the road once again in the Premier League when they make the trip to Frank Lampard’s Everton on Thursday night.