Cole Palmer once again showcased his talent as Chelsea secured a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Newcastle United in a thrilling Premier League clash at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
The young England forward played a pivotal role, netting the decisive goal just after half-time and delivering a brilliant assist for Nicolas Jackson’s opener, which had been temporarily erased by Alexander Isak’s equalizer.
After narrowly losing to Liverpool in their previous match, Chelsea bounced back impressively, climbing into the top four in the league standings.
Meanwhile, Newcastle, struggling with form, remains in 12th place, now without a win in five consecutive matches and continuing to battle issues with scoring, as they’ve failed to net more than once in their last outings.
The match began with an early scare for the Blues. Just five minutes in, Jackson managed to slip Palmer through on goal, and the forward finished past goalkeeper Nick Pope with precision.
However, the celebration was short-lived as the goal was disallowed following a VAR review that deemed Palmer offside.
Undeterred, Chelsea maintained their attacking pressure and were rewarded in the 18th minute. Palmer ignited a swift counter-attack with an audacious pass that found Pedro Neto.
Neto expertly navigated through the challenge posed by Fabian Schar before setting up Jackson, who calmly slotted the ball into the net, putting Chelsea ahead.
Despite dominating the first half, Chelsea struggled with their finishing and were made to rue their missed chances shortly after the half-hour mark.
An impressive Newcastle counter-attack involving former Chelsea players Tino Livramento and Lewis Hall resulted in Isak tapping in the equalizer, marking only his second goal of the season.
This goal was upheld after another lengthy VAR check confirmed he was onside.
Just 75 seconds into the second half, Chelsea regained the lead in dramatic fashion. After Isak lost possession on halfway, Palmer seized the opportunity, sprinting into the box and firing a low shot past Pope at the near post—an effort that the Newcastle keeper would likely feel he should have stopped.
The home side pressed for more, with Neto narrowly missing the chance to extend the lead when his header crashed off the post.
Newcastle, however, had their own opportunities to equalize again. Isak, demonstrating his skill, managed to evade the returning Wesley Fofana and rounded Chelsea’s goalkeeper Robert Sanchez near the byline, but was unable to get a clean shot off as Moises Caicedo rushed back to snuff out the threat.
As the match reached its tense conclusion, Chelsea appeared to have earned a penalty when Dan Burn fouled substitute Christopher Nkunku inside the area.
However, the referee, Simon Hooper, reversed his decision after consulting the pitchside monitor, leaving Chelsea to settle for a narrow yet vital victory as they continued their pursuit of the Premier League title.
