Chelsea progressed in to the fifth round of the FA Cup with a comfortable 3-0 victory over Newcastle at Stamford Bridge earlier today. Let’s see how the players rated …
Chelsea
Caballero 7
Made a couple of decent saves and solid distribution.
Rüdiger 7
Started nervously but improved as the game went on.
Christensen 8
Really impressive, so calm and composed for such a young player.
Cahill 7
A solid return to the starting XI for Chelsea’s captain.
Zappacosta 8
Brought great energy to his side down the right flank.
Drinkwater 5
Was sloppy on the ball at times and had a shot go out for a throw in the first-half.
Kanté 7
Got through a mountain of work in the middle of the park as always.
Alonso 8
Scored what is fast becoming a trademark world-class free-kick, and put in a solid shift down the left as usual.
Pedro 7
Played a superb through ball for Chelsea’s opener, and look bright throughout the game.
Hazard 8
Continues to look razor sharp playing in a more central role.
Batshuayi 9 (MOTM)
Took his two goals well, and put in a encouraging all-round display.
Substitutes
Ampadu 8
Really good cameo from the talented 17-year-old with one through ball to Pedro particularly catching the eye.
Barkley 6
Still finding his feet at Stamford Bridge, will hopefully improve as he becomes more match fit.
Hudson-Odoi 7
Some tidy touches and turns by the promising young talent.
Newcastle
Darlow 5
Just does not convince that he is good enough for this level.
Manquillo 5
Works hard but lacks quality, to be fair I could say the same about most of his team-mates.
Mbemba 5
Couldn’t get near Hazard all day, so took to taking him down on several occasions.
Lascelles 7
Unlucky to deflect Batshuayi’s second goal into his own net. Didn’t do too much wrong apart from that and will have a massive part to play if Newcastle are to stay in the Premier League.
Clark 5
Looked unsure of himself tactically due to the switch to three at the back.
Haidara 4
Hasn’t played much football recently and probably won’t get much more game time anytime soon after this stinking performance.
Hayden 6
A real workhorse but has to do better when in possession.
Saivet 7
One player who did his chances of more regular game time no harm. as he competed well in the centre of the park.
Shelvey 6
Had a few decent half chances that he should have done better with.
Ritchie 7
Got into some dangerous positions and some decent deliveries into the box which maybe deserved a bit more.
Gayle 5
Passed when he should have shot in the first-half with the score at 0-0.
Substitutes
Murphy 5
Ineffectual after his introduction.
Joselu 4
If he is Newcastle’s best chance of scoring a goal late in games, they really do need to sign a striker.
Atsu 5
Got a nice reception from the fans of his old club, but did nothing to help his current employers.