CHELSEA were 2-0 winners at Newcastle on their return to Premier League action.
They briefly moved top of the table and Frank Lampard heaped praise on Timo Werner after the game.
Get all the reaction from St James' Park here.
Follow ALL the latest Chelsea transfer news below…
- <a href='http://www.thesun.co.uk/sport' rel='external nofollow ugc' class='url'>Alex Terrell</a>
AVERAGE POSITIONS
Here is how Chelsea lined up in their 2-0 win at Newcastle.
- <a href='http://www.thesun.co.uk/sport' rel='external nofollow ugc' class='url'>Alex Terrell</a>
IT'S A TIM' GAME
Frank Lampard has told Timo Werner to keep being a threat for Chelsea, despite drawing a blank at St James’ Park.
Werner missed a host of chances but his rapid run setting up Abraham had Lampard purring.
The Chelsea boss said: “Sometimes it doesn’t go in for you but he was a real threat, especially on the transition which is important against a team like Newcastle who are hard to break down when they are set.
“But when they try to open up you need players like that, and I thought the pace with which he travelled with the ball was special.
“And then the unselfishness to find Tammy. You rely on top players to do those things.”
- William Pugh
GOOD MORNING BLUES FANS
Chelsea moved to the top of the Premier League table – albeit for just a few hours – with a 2-0 win at Newcastle.
An own-goal from Federico Fernandez opened the scoring at St James’ Park, with the Blues dominating all areas of the pitch.
Tammy Abraham sealed the win in the second half but Chelsea will have been left frustrated by their number of missed chances in front of goal.
And boss Frank Lampard urged his side to remain grounded after their third consecutive league win.
He said: “The Premier League is tough, relentless, and we dealt with the challenge of the game very well.
“I won't get excited about being top of the table for five minutes. It's important to be humble and know it's a long race.”
Meanwhile, Super Frank also praised Timo Werner, who took Newcastle apart countless times despite being unable to net himself.
Lampard added: “He [Werner] had a couple of chances and sometimes it doesn't go in for you, but I thought he was a real threat for us throughout.
“You need players of that quality to win game and the pace he travels with the ball is something special.
“He was so unselfish, and you rely on those players who are top-class.”
Finally, Arsenal reportedly attempted to sign Chelsea vice-captain Jorginho over the summer.
The Athletic claims talks were held as Mikel Arteta tried to land the Italian midfielder.
It's reckoned Jorginho was wanted to play alongside Thomas Partey, but the ace ended up staying at Stamford Bridge.
- Anthony Chapman
BY JORG
Arsenal reportedly attempted to sign Chelsea vice-captain Jorginho over the summer.
The Athletic claims talks were held as Mikel Arteta tried to land the Italian midfielder.
It's reckoned Jorginho was wanted to play alongside Thomas Partey.
But the ace ended up staying at Stamford Bridge.
- Anthony Chapman
KANTE BELIEVE IT
Frank Lampard has hailed N’Golo Kante’s recent impact following his return to full fitness.
The Chelsea gaffer beamed: “We’ve been working very hard to get him fit and fresh with how we manage his training and game time.
“But his levels of performance are really high. I’m really, really happy with how he’s playing.
“Because every time you train and you allow him off the leash in training, he makes ridiculous output because that’s the way he plays.
“We are very careful with that and at the minute we are in a good place and hopefully that continues.”
- Anthony Chapman
YOU’RE THE WERN THAT I WANT
Frank Lampard has praised Timo Werner’s brilliant performance in the 2-0 win at Newcastle.
The Chelsea boss said: “He [Werner] had a couple of chances and sometimes it doesn't go in for you, but I thought he was a real threat for us throughout.
“You need players of that quality to win game and the pace he travels with the ball is something special.
“He was so unselfish, and you rely on those players who are top-class.”
- Anthony Chapman
LIKE IT OR LAMP IT
Frank Lampard has urged Chelsea to remain 'humble' after their 2-0 win against Newcastle.
The Blues have now won three in a row and find themselves battling it out for top spot in the table.
Lampard told BT Sport: “It's not an easy game. We played well in patches and the result is key in these games.
“The Premier League is tough, relentless, and we dealt with the challenge of the game very well.
“I won't get excited about being top of the table for five minutes. It's important to be humble and know it's a long race.”
- Anthony Chapman
IN FOR THE KYL
Premier League sides are on red alert after Monaco’s former president claims Kylian Mbappe is seriously considering leaving PSG.
Vadim Vasilyev told Telefoot: “He is going to have to make very important decisions, and right now he seems more headed towards a way out.
“Nothing is impossible. Kylian is young and what he wants to win are titles. He is ambitious. He wants to win everything and break all the records.
“If tomorrow PSG propose an ambitious project, where he feels comfortable and with options to go further and guarantees that he can win everything in his career, he could renew.”
- Anthony Chapman
VERDICT BY SIMON PHILLIPS
Chelsea are turning into a different kind of beast this season under Frank Lampard.
Last season we would often witness the struggles and frustrations as Lampard’s side bossed games but struggled to finish teams off.
But this afternoon’s 2-0 win against Newcastle proved Lampard has now found the key to unlocking low-block defences – and that is a dangerous sign for the rest of the Premier League.
READ THE REST OF THE VERDICT HERE
- Anthony Chapman
TOFF CALL
Wayne Rooney revealed Everton wanted him to join Chelsea rather than Manchester United in 2004 because they were offering the most money.
He told the UTD podcast: “I knew it [joining United] was an option before Euro 2004.
“I knew Manchester United wanted to sign me. I think going to the Euros, and doing well there, probably added a bit more money on to the transfer fee but I broke my foot and found out a few things.
“Everton were really struggling for money at the time and I found out they were listening to offers from people as well. They were trying to push me to sign for Chelsea because they were going to pay the most money.
“But, once I knew United were interested, I wanted some confirmation that they did want to sign me. Once I knew they did want to sign me, it was the only club [for me]. It was a perfect fit for me.”
- Anthony Chapman
WILD SIDE
Chris Wilder has slammed big club bosses for their “selfish” attempts to bring in five subs.
He said: “They're selfish. They might say it's everyone's concern but I'm not sure.
“I'm still not going along with it that it's a physical thing, the data does not convince me.
“If they are turn to Page 67 3-0 up against teams they should be beating, it gives them an opportunity to change five players.
“There was a shout that we have to look after the mentality of the players.
“I’m not sure in this period of our social lives outside football that that will go down too well, that players on £250,000-a-week are not in the 18.
“That's b******s as far as I'm concerned.”
- Anthony Chapman
RATINGS CONTINUED
Mateo Kovacic – 8
He seems to be enjoying the freer and more advanced role that he is playing at the moment and put in another decent performance today.
Good on the ball, quick in possession, and good energy getting up and back.
Mason Mount – 9
He really enjoys playing in the central role and was behind everything Chelsea did well, including a lovely cross for Chelsea's first goal.
In the first half, Mount actually had more touches than the whole Newcastle team he was that dominating.
Hakim Ziyech – 8
The man Chelsea fans are rightfully referring to as 'a cheat code' was full of creativity and class again today, the way he was pinging passes around long and short is a joy to watch.
Tammy Abraham – 7
Worked hard in attack but his touch looked off at times. He did provide a great finish for Chelsea's second goal after some fine work from Werner.
Timo Werner – 6
His pace is always a real threat out wide and running in behind, but he was guilty of missing chances today especially one real sitter in the first half, and then another one early in the first half.
But he made up for missed chances with the run with the ball he made for Abraham's goal.
- Anthony Chapman
MORE RATINGS
Reece James – 7
James is creating a nice partnership on the right with Ziyech.
He was dangerous in attack and solid at the back once again this afternoon.
Antonio Rudiger – 5
Didn't really take his rare starting chance and looked dodgy at the back and in possession.
He doesn't bring the same forward-thinking progressive passing that Thiago Silva has.
Kurt Zouma – 7
Another comfortable and solid performance from Zouma, who always looked to make things happen from deep a bit more than his defensive partner.
Ben Chilwell – 6
He did very well on Chelsea's first goal forcing the own goal and put in another consistent performance.
It was more an afternoon of doing his job rather than anything more standout.
N'Golo Kante – 9
Chelsea's captain for the afternoon was just a cut above the rest today in the deeper role.
He was all over the pitch and was even orchestrating Chelsea's attacks from deep.
- William Pugh
CHELSEA RATINGS
N’Golo Kante and Mason Mount stole the show as Chelsea secured a 2-0 win over Newcastle.
Frank Lampard’s men won their fifth game on the bounce after an own goal by Federico Fernandez gave them an early lead.
Tammy Abraham doubled Chelsea’s tally in the second half to seal the deal.
Here’s how Simon Phillips rated each Chelsea player on the day…
Edouard Mendy – 7
He always brings that confidence to Chelsea’s back line and he continued with that today.
Mendy certainly wasn’t busy this afternoon but he did whatever he was called to do and showed good distribution again.
- William Pugh
SUPER FRANK
Frank Lampard consoled Ray Clemence’s son following the legend’s death in a touching moment before Chelsea’s game at Newcastle .
The Blues boss headed over to Stephen Clemence during the warm-ups at St James’ Park before the lunchtime kick-off.
Lampard and Clemence – who is part of Steve Bruce’s Newcastle coaching staff – shook hands and embraced.
The pair had a brief conversation with Clemence appearing to say: “Thanks Frank.”
He then gave Lampard him the thumbs up as they went their separate ways before the Premier League clash.
Clemence Sr passed away at the age of 72 last weekend.
- William Pugh
CLAUDE COMFORT
Chelsea legend Claude Makelele snubbed a move to Manchester United before joining the Blues in 2003.
Makelele was one of the first signings of Roman Abramovich’s Chelsea revolution that summer, sealing a £16.8million move from Real Madrid after handing in a transfer request at the Bernabeu.
The former France midfielder has revealed Manchester United were also interested in his signature ahead of the 2003-04 season, but he had already pledged his future to Chelsea.
Makelele told FourFourTwo: “I had seen how things were going at Real Madrid. I told Chelsea that ‘if I leave, I’ll go there’. I made them a promise.
“They did everything possible to sign me. I was 30 at the time, but they still paid a significant transfer fee.
“I went to Chelsea because they came to me first. Other teams like Inter and Manchester United approached me, and they had shown interest before I went to Madrid.”
- William Pugh
FULL-TIME!!
Newcastle 0 – 2 Chelsea
- William Pugh
NEWCASTLE 0-2 CHELSEA
65. Werner picked up the ball from his own half, beat two Newcastle players with his incredible speed and slid a perfectly timed ball for strike partner Abraham who couldn't miss.
Despite Newcastle's recent pressure, the second had been coming.
Chelsea on their way to topping the table.
- William Pugh
GOAAAAAAAALLLL!
ABRAHAM WITH THE SECOND!
BUT WHAT A RUN FROM WERNER!
Newcastle 0 – 2 Chelsea
- William Pugh
PEEEEEEEEP!
THE SECOND HALF IS UNDERWAY!
Newcastle 0 – 1 Chelsea
- William Pugh
HALF-TIME!!
The Blues lead at the break thanks to Federico Fernandez's own goal after 10 minutes.
Newcastle 0 – 1 Chelsea.
https://twitter.com/ChelseaFC/status/1330138151432687621?s=20
- William Pugh
GOOOOAAAAAAAAL!!!
OWN GOAL FERNANDEZ!
Newcastle 0 – 1 Chelsea
- William Pugh
KICK-OFF!
Newcastle vs Chelsea is off and under way at St James' Park.
Follow every kick with our minute by minute LIVE blog here.
- William Pugh
ANTON'S AGONY
Anton Ferdinand has opened up about the aftermath of being on the receiving end of alleged racial abuse from John Terry back in 2011.
The centre-back was playing for Queens Park Rangers against Chelsea at Loftus Road. The R’s managed to secure a priceless 1-0 victory over their West London rivals, but the match was overshadowed by one of the most controversial incidents in Premier League history.
An FA panel found Terry guilty of ‘using abusive and/or insulting words … which included a reference to colour and/or race’ during the match. And Ferdinand, now 35, has opened up on the harrowing aftermath, with his mum having subsequently passed away from cancer.
He told the Guardian: “There were ripple effects. Her house was targeted. Eggs and bricks were thrown. There were death threats.
“I know it wasn’t my fault that she fell ill, but consciously [the worry] was always there. Watching the documentary through my family’s eyes I understood that my mum couldn’t help when normally she would have done.
“She was watching her son go through something she went through many years ago. I was able to understand why subconsciously I blamed myself, why at times I couldn’t sleep and I was frightened of myself.”
- William Pugh
NEWCASTLE TEAM NEWS!
And this is how the home side will setup against the Blues.
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