Cole Palmer shone again, producing “one of the best passes in Premier League history” to help Chelsea overcome Newcastle United 2-1 at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea thought they had made an early breakthrough when Nicolas Jackson sent Palmer through on goal, but despite the England forward coolly slotting past Nick Pope, his strike was ruled out by the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) for the tightest of offside calls against the striker, who had strayed just beyond Fabian Schar.
That home disappointment did not last long, though, as the Blues soon made a deserved breakthrough after what Jamie Carragher called “one of the best passes I’ve ever seen in the Premier League” as Palmer’s outrageous ball released Pedro Neto in space down the left.
The Portugal forward, starting in place of the benched Jadon Sancho down Chelsea’s left, did well to first evade Schar’s tackle on the byline, before squaring for the unmarked Jackson to score his 10th goal in his last 14 league matches for the Blues.
The visitors, who thought they should have had a penalty when skipper Bruno Guimaraes was seemingly felled by Levi Colwill, did draw level just past the half-hour mark after a well-worked team goal, although only after another tight offside call.
However, Alexander Isak managed not to stray before side-footing home Lewis Hall’s inviting ball in from the left as the Magpies netted for the first time in three league games and went in all square at the break.
But Newcastle, minus the injured Anthony Gordon, were not level for long as the hosts went back ahead just 75 seconds into the second period after losing the ball on halfway, allowing Romeo Lavia to feed Palmer, who then beat Nick Pope at his near post for his 17th Premier League goal at Stamford Bridge in 2024, the most by any player in a calendar year at the stadium.
There was late drama for both teams as first Isak saw his close-range header cleared of the line by Reece James, before somehow failing to score after rounding Robert Sanchez, only to be dispossessed before he could put the ball in the empty net.
And then Chelsea had a injury-time penalty overturned by the VAR, who deemed Dan Burn’s pull on Christopher Nkunku insufficient for a spot-kick.
As a result, Enzo Maresca sees his youthful side – the Italian has fielded the youngest XI in Premier League history this season – move up to fourth in the table ahead of Sunday afternoon’s later games, while Newcastle are 12th after going a fifth league match without a win for the first time since March 2023.
