NEWCASTLE, England (Reuters) -Newcastle United striker Alexander Isak netted on his return from injury, while two quick-fire second-half goals and a late Anthony Gordon strike gave the Magpies a 4-1 Premier League win over 10-man Chelsea at St James’ Park on Saturday.
Isak, who has missed several games over the last month due to a groin problem, was teed up by a brilliant short pass through the heart of the Chelsea defence by 17-year-old midfielder Lewis Miley, and the striker took a touch before firing home in the 13th minute.
Chelsea drew level 10 minutes later as Raheem Sterling was brought down on the edge of the box, and the winger stepped up to drill the resulting free kick past the flat-footed Nick Pope.
Newcastle almost went in ahead at the break as a free kick from fullback Kieran Trippier hit the crossbar, but there was little indication of the collapse to come from Chelsea in the second half.
The home side took the lead again on the hour mark as Newcastle patiently worked a free kick from right to left, allowing Gordon to find the head of Jamaal Lascelles with an inswinging cross that the Magpies captain steered into the net.
Just over a minute later Robert Sanchez was beaten again as Joelinton robbed fellow Brazilian Thiago Silva on the edge of the box and advanced before scoring to leave Chelsea on the ropes.
Any chance Chelsea had of staging a comeback vanished when Reece James collected his second yellow card for an innocuous challenge in the 73rd minute, and it prompted Eddie Howe to shuffle his deck.
Bringing a number of young players off the bench, Howe moved Gordon up front and he rounded off the scoring in the 83rd minute with an excellent individual effort as Newcastle rose to sixth in the table on 23 points.
Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino, slammed his side after a result that leaves them 10th on 16 points, saying it was their worst game of the season.
“We will go to the hotel, then train early tomorrow, no time off. We cannot blame the players, it is the team together. We need to understand the level we need to compete, and learn about this situation,” Pochettino said.
Newcastle manager Eddie Howe said he was delighted with how his squad, which is missing many key players due to injuries and suspension, made the most of their advantages in the second half.
“It was a real statement of character within the squad. We really asked the players to step up, and we really deserved to win. Big positives from today,” he said.
(Reporting by Philip O’Connor, editing by Pritha Sarkar and Toby Davis)
