“An absolutely colossal display” – Full player ratings as Newcastle hit Chelsea with sucker punch

In an incredible night of football, Newcastle beat Chelsea 1-0 at St. James’ Park.

The match was tight and tense all night long as Newcastle parked the bus and held on for dear life as Chelsea tried to break them down. The Blues were blunted and somehow the Magpies snatched it at the death.

Here’s how the players rated at St. James’ Park:

Newcastle

Martin Dubravka – 8 – A phenomenal performance from the Slovakian to repel Chelsea time and time again. Stood tall in the Newcastle goal and made sure that when Chelsea did get into space they couldn’t find the killer touch.

Emil Krafth – 7 – Defended his flank well from Chelsea incursions, although he had the easier job as Reece James was on the other side.

Federico Fernandez – 8 – A powerful defensive display at the back for Newcastle.

Jamal Lascelles – 8 – An absolutely colossal display from the Newcastle no. 6. Made a staggering 11 clearances as he led the Magpies to a quite incredible clean sheet. A true captain’s performance.

READ MORE: Five things learned as Chelsea’s biggest problem strikes again

Ciaran Clark – 8 – A massive showing. Made seven clearances and a game-high three blocks to keep Chelsea out.

Jetro Willems – n/a – Had to leave the field early after an unfortunate clash of knees left him badly injured.

Isaac Hayden – 8 – Ran tirelessly all night long, first in the middle and then on the right late on. Turned a solid display into a match-winning one when he nodded home a cross right at the death to give Newcastle the victory.

Jojo Shelvey – 7 – Newcastle’s top passer on the night (completing 28/38; both team-highs) and their most potent creator having made three chances for the Magpies.

Isaac Hayden's goalscoring record in the Premier League:

2017-18: 26 games, 1 goal
2018-19: 25 games, 1 goal
2019-20: 19 games, 1 goal

What a way to get this season's goal. 😉 pic.twitter.com/jZFrhs6Yia

— Squawka (@Squawka) January 18, 2020

Miguel Almiron – 7 – Produced a supreme cross for Joelinton to hit the bar. Helped out in defence and tried his best to carry the ball up the field.

Allan Saint-Maximin – 8 – An incredible performance, a one-man attack at times. Came hard at the end of the game with an absolute miracle of a cross to create the winning goal.

Joelinton – 7 – Unlucky to hit the bar in the first-half but never stopped working, contested a massive 30 aerial duels as Newcastle’s focal target in attack – holding the ball up and bringing team-mates into play.

Substitutes:

Matt Ritchie (for Willems 12′) – 7 – Came on the for the injured Willems. Worked tirelessly in attack and defence, clearing the ball off the line in the second-half.

Sean Longstaff (for Krafth 71′) – 7 – Held the middle well.

Matty Longstaff (for Shelvey 85′) – n/a – Came on late.

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Chelsea

Kepa Arrizabalaga – 4 – Had basically nothing to do, and did it well until the end of the game when he failed to come for a cross, and then failed to stop what should have been a savable header. Utterly ineffective at crunch-time yet again.

Reece James – 8 – The best player in blue. A tenacious tackling force he also played the most penetrative passes for Chelsea as he dominated the right-flank. An incredibly promising talent who only needs to steer clear of injury to become a world star.

Andreas Christensen – 7 – Battled Joelinton ferociously in the air, dominating the Brazilian as he won a massive 88.9% of his aerial duels.

Antonio Rudiger – 4 – Did well for much of the match but completely lost Hayden for the winning goal.

Cesar Azpilicueta – 5 – Defended well.

N’Golo Kanté – 6 – Worked his heart out and kept Chelsea pushing forward on the front-foot.

Jorginho – 6 – Dominated the game and the ball. Dictated the tempo and kept on moving the ball forward into advanced areas.

Mason Mount – 6 – Some bright runs early on as he created the most Chelsea chances with a total of four but faded badly and got subbed off.

Callum Hudson-Odoi – 5 – Made lots of bright runs but used the ball so poorly in the final third.

Willian – 3 – A shockingly wasteful display from Chelsea’s no. 10. Just did nothing.

Tammy Abraham – 6 – Some bright movement to attack Newcastle’s defence but was isolated against a wall of defenders. Had one great chance cleared off the line.

Substitutes:

Ross Barkley (for Mount 68′) – 4 – Did even less than Mount.

Emerson (for James 75′) – 5 – Came on late and did not offer much.

Michy Batshuayi (for Abraham 80′) – 5 – One nice flick was all he could manage in the closing stages.