Chelsea’s Eden Hazard puts paid to Newcastle hopes of a shock

Chelsea played with controlled aggression to stamp out Newcastle United’s early attempts at insurrection at Stamford Bridge, but there were no touchline histrionics from Antonio Conte this time. There was no need for a repeat of the eruption that led to the manager being sent from the touchline in the tight win over Swansea City on Wednesday. Instead it was an afternoon for Conte to stand back and appreciate Eden Hazard’s special talent as the Belgian helped Chelsea recover from a goal down to close the gap on Manchester City to eight points at the top of the table.

Conte was mostly on his best behaviour after being charged with misconduct by the Football Association, although there was one moment when the combustible Italian let his emotions get the better of him. Chelsea were trailing to Dwight Gayle’s early goal when he could be seen leaping around in disbelief at one refereeing decision, with the rest of the home bench joining in with the protests after seeing a penalty appeal waved away, but it was a comfortable workout for the champions in the end. Hazard scored twice, either side of Álvaro Morata’s 10th goal of the season, and the home fans revelled in mocking Rafael Benítez, jeering their former interim manager when he sliced a ball back into play in the first half.

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