Chelsea 0-1 Newcastle: Anthony Gordon’s first-half strike boosts Toon’s European qualification hopes
Newcastle injected life into their bid to secure European qualification with a 1-0 victory over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
Anthony Gordon’s first-half strike (18) proved to be the only goal of the game as Newcastle produced a textbook away performance to seal what could be a vital three points in the race for Europe.
Tino Livramento’s pass split open the Chelsea defence, allowing Joe Willock to run in on goal. The midfielder went on to tee up Gordon, who was able to tap home the winner.
The performance was the perfect tonic ahead of their trip to Barcelona in midweek as victory sees Eddie Howe’s side move up to ninth, six points behind fifth-placed Chelsea with eight games of the season remaining.
Chelsea dominated the ball for large spells but could find no way through Newcastle’s rock-solid defence. Substitute Liam Delap wasted a good chance before Reece James’ late free-kick thumped the post as Chelsea’s bad week continued.
This was a chance for Liam Rosenior’s side, who lost 5-2 to PSG in midweek to all but end their Champions League hopes, to move into third with a win, but they never really had the urgency to trouble Newcastle as they went on to suffer an eighth defeat of the season.
With Man Utd facing Aston Villa, live on Sky Sports on Super Sunday, defeat represents a big opportunity missed in the race for Champions League qualification. They remain three points behind both Villa and United having played a game more.
More to follow…
Sunday 15th March 1:00pm
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Sunday 15th March 4:00pm
Kick off 4:30pm