Chelsea moves atop PL after beating Newcastle; first time under Frank Lampard

Newscastle 0-2 Chelsea

Chelsea moved top of the Premier League for the first time under Frank Lampard – for a few hours at least – with a routine 2-0 victory at Newcastle on Saturday.

Federico Fernandez’s early own goal gave Chelsea the lead at St. James’ Park before Timo Werner’s stunning assist set up Tammy Abraham to seal the points midway through the second half.

Newcastle hit the bar through Sean Longstaff after Abraham’s strike but the hosts were well off the pace throughout as they slipped to back-to-back defeats for the first time this season.

Chelsea’s fifth consecutive victory extends their unbeaten run in all competitions to 12 games and lifts them above Leicester into top spot on goal difference ahead of the rest of the weekend’s fixtures. Newcastle remain 13th.

Player ratings

Newcastle: Darlow (6), Fernandez (5), Lascelles (5), Clark (5), Manquillo (5), Hayden (5), S Longstaff (6), Lewis (5), Murphy (5), Saint-Maximin (6), Joelinton (5).

Subs: Schar (5), Almiron (6), Carroll (5).

Chelsea: Mendy (7), James (7), Rudiger (7), Zouma (7), Chilwell (7), Kante (8), Kovacic (7), Mount (7), Ziyech (7), Abraham (8), Werner (8).

Subs: Hudson-Odoi (6), Giroud (n/a), Emerson (n/a).

Man of the Match: Tammy Abraham