Newcastle United had no answer for Fernando Torres and Eden Hazard on Saturday night, as Chelsea coasted to a comfortable 2-0 victory over the Magpies, the inverse of the result Newcastle dropped on Chelsea last season at Stamford Bridge.
While Torres still hasn't put together a complete performance in a Chelsea shirt, his flashes of brilliance, combined with the excellent play of Hazard, were enough to undo Newcastle's defense. He drew a penalty on Vurnon Anita in the 20th minute, which Hazard buried. The contact Anita made with Torres was minimal, but he could hardly complain at the call, given that he stuck his leg out when he had little chance to win the ball. In first half stoppage time, Hazard set up Torres for an impressive toe-poke finish to make it 2-0.
Chelsea's defense held Demba Ba and Papiss Cisse in check all day, while the midfield pairing of Raul Meireles and John Obi Mikel did an excellent job of cutting off supply to them. Petr Cech was forced into one good save late in the second half on a shot by Ba, but the Newcastle forwards were ineffective for the most part. The Magpies were expected to challenge Chelsea, and they did nothing of the sort.
For more on the Blues, head over to Chelsea FC blog We Ain't Got No History. For more on the Magpies, check out Newcastle United blog Coming Home Newcastle.
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