Joe Willock scored the only goal of the match as Newcastle United edged past Chelsea at St James’ Park to end the first part of the season in third place in the Premier League.In the week when Eddie Howe was named Manager of the Month for October and his winger Miguel Almiron received the Player of the Month award, the two men continued to do what they do in November as well. Howe set up a fiery system featuring relentless high press and the Paraguayan did his magic in the final third to give the Magpies a fantastic win.Graham Potter handed debut to young Lewis Hall. The 18-year-old midfielder can sometimes slot in at left-back and that’s exactly where he made his first senior appearance at St James Park.The first 45 minutes offered relentless action, but just one shot on target, Armando Broja failing to trouble Nick Pope with a meek atttempt.Newcastle fans never forget 😅 pic.twitter.com/7uGzDG4mBQ— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) November 12, 2022 Ruben Loftus-Cheek joined the list of Chelsea’s injured players as he left the pitch just eight minutes into the game.The match found another gear after the restart and Howe’s team pressed for the opening goal with even more energy. Midfielder Sean Longstaff had a couple of chances but it was the Premier League’s Player of the Month Almiron who made the difference once more. He controlled the ball on the edge of the area, cut in so it fell nicely for Joe Willock. The former Arsenal youngster lashed it into the top corner beyond Edouard Mendy to give Newcastle the lead.Chelsea had no choice but to get forward in search of a goal. Potter brought Hakim Ziyech, Kai Havertz and Marc Cucurella in addition to Christian Pulisic, but they failed to create real chances.There was a lot of tension in the final stages, the match looked like turning into a brawl, but thankfully it ended with just a few unpleasant conversations and a handful of yellow cards.
Newcastle leapfrogged Tottenham again and will spend the seasonal break in the third spot in the table, with only Arsenal and Manchester City above them.PREMIER LEAGUE – ROUND 16SaturdayMan.City – Brentford 1-2 (1-1)/Foden 45 – Toney 16, 95/Manchester City – Brentford 1-2 (1-1)/Foden 45 – Toney 16, 90+5/Bournemouth – Everton 3-0 (2-0)/Tavernier 18, Moore 24, Anthony 69/Liverpool – Southampton 3-1 (3-1)/Firmino 6, Nunez 21, 42 – Adams 9/Nottingham Forest – Crystal Palace 1-0 (0-0)/Gibbs-White 54/Tottenham – Leeds 4-3 (1-2)/Kane 25, Davies 51, Bentancur 81, 83 – Summerville 10, Rodrigo 43, 76/West Ham – Leicester 0-2 (0-1)/Maddison 8, Barnes 78/Newcastle – Chelsea 1-0 (0-0)/Willock 67/22:45: (5.80) Wolverhampton (3.90) Arsenal (1.60)Sunday17:00: (1.95) Brighton (3.50) Aston Villa (4.40)19:30: (4.10) Fulham (3.50) Man.Utd. (1.92)***odds are subject to change***