Newcastle 0-3 Chelsea: Reece James at the double as Blues romp home 

Chelsea made it four Premier League (PL) wins in a row with a 3-0 triumph over Newcastle United away from home.

While new owners may be in town, promising the world to St. James’ Park supporters, the reality is that the ‘Magpies’ have yet to win a Premier League match this season and are firmly in the relegation zone.

As a result, they need as many points as possible between now and the January transfer window if they are to stay up, and interim manager Graeme Jones was not in the mood to give Chelsea an easy ride right away.

The ‘Toon’ defended as a unit in their own half, frustrating the ‘Blues’ at every turn.

Hakim Ziyech was the visitors’ main threat – he came close to past Karl Darlow twice and really did once, though his well-placed shot came from an offside position – but Newcastle drew level at halftime thanks to a combination of dogged resolve and time-wasting.

Chelsea continued to explore after the break and looked even more threatening.

Ziyech was at the heart of practically everything his team did this season, forcing Darlow to make a save before seeing his deflected effort hit the post.

Allan Saint-Maximin showed some wonderful moves for the hosts, but they never seemed like they were going to score since they were focused on keeping their opponents out.

They kept doing so until the 65th minute, when the tie was broken.

Darlow and the Newcastle backline had little chance against Reece James’ missile, which sailed through a slew of people and into the top corner.

Surprisingly, in the closing quarter of an hour, the right-back scored his fourth goal of the season.

Soon after, Jorginho added a second goal, scoring from the penalty spot after Darlow took Kai Havertz down in the area.

Thomas Tuchel’s side extended their advantage at the top of the table to three points after both Liverpool and Manchester City lost their respective games against Brighton and Crystal Palace.

This served as a strong reminder to Amanda Staveley and the rest of the Newcastle ownership of how much work remains if they are to achieve their lofty goals.