EPL: Chelsea back in top four after victory over Newcastle
Chelsea have moved up to the fourth spot on the English Premier League (EPL) table following their 2-0 win over Newcastle United on Monday night at Stamford Bridge.
Goals from Olivier Giroud and Timo Werner were adequate to give the Blues maximum points as they continued their good run under their new German manager Thomas Tuchel.
Monday’s tie did not start well for Chelsea as Tammy Abraham was forced off with an injury after just 13 minutes.
Abraham was in on goal but Newcastle captain, Jamaal Lasceles, made a last ditch tackle that turned the young striker’s ankle.
He took some time to be treated and tried to soldier on but he had to be replaced by Olivier Giroud in the 20th minute.
However, there was to be a slight silver lining for Chelsea in Abraham’s injury as his replacement, Giroud, gave Chelsea the lead in the 31st minute after good work down the left by Timo Werner.
Moments after, the goal drought was finally over Timo Werner as he scored for the first time in the Premier League in 15 attempts.
But Werner and indeed Chelsea were made to wait a little longer to have the goal confirmed as VAR checked for a potential offside.
But eventually, it was given and Chelsea had doubled their lead before the end of the first half.
Having failed to match their first-half performance in the second 45 minutes, there were no more goals neither for Chelsea nor their opponents, Newcastle.
In the other Monday Premier League tie, West Ham initially leapfrogged Liverpool into the fourth position after they beat bottom team Sheffield United 3-0.
Declan Rice got the opening goal from the penalty spot four minutes before the first half interval then an Issa Diop header and a late Ryan Fredericks strike sealed the 3-0 win at the London Stadium.
David Moyes’ side are fifth on the table currently with defending champions, Liverpool, pushed down to sixth place after their dismal run of late.
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