Match Report: Lacklustre Newcastle Fall to Title Favourites Chelsea

Chelsea capitalised on Arsenal and Manchester City's dropped points on Saturday to move to the summit of the table, strengthening their title credentials in the process. On the back of the 1-0 victory in Manchester on Monday night, the Blues ensured they maintained their good run of form to dispatch of Newcastle with a routine 3-0 win.

The visitors were put to the sword by the increasingly impressive Eden Hazard, the 23-year old sweeping past Tim Krul midway through the first half after Branislav Ivanovic picked out the winger inside the 18-yard box. Hazard was on hand to double the hosts' advantage 7 minutes later following a neat one-two with Samuel Eto'o on the back of a swift Chelsea counter-attack, before the Belgium international completed his hat-trick from the spot on the hour mark.

José Mourinho's side headed into the fixture as favourites and they made sure they lived up to the tag, with his team now making it 73 games unbeaten at Stamford Bridge in the Premier League under his stewardship, 57 of which have been wins. Controlling proceedings in the midfield was key to the win and with Newcastle unable to call upon the services of Yohan Cabaye following his move to PSG, the west London outfit ensured they did this, with Nemanja Matic in particular playing a crucial role.

The Serbian was making only his second league start following his re-signing last month and on the back of his display against City, it was richly deserved. The powerful Serbian marshalled the midfield superbly once again in the victory, making a match-high 10 tackles, more than the entire starting Newcastle midfield combined (6), as the 25-year-old pulled the strings in the middle of the park.

This is best exhibited in his WhoScored rating of 8.9 in the encounter, only Hazard scored higher. Without Cheick Tioté in the Newcastle midfield, the visitors lacked the bite in the middle of the pitch that allowed Matic to flourish, with manager Alan Pardew opting to field left-back Davide Santon in the role to bolster their defensive solidity.

The young Italian may've been Newcastle's highest rated player (7.3) but his inexperience in the position was still capitalised upon by Chelsea to destructive effect. Yet, Hazard will be the one coming away with the plaudits following another man of the match display. It perhaps goes without saying that, at present, the winger is the best player in England.

With 12 goals to his name in England's top tier this term, bettering his record of 9 from last season, the Belgian continues to astound and Saturday's win was no different. Hazard tormented Mathieu Debuchy and Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa over the 90 minutes, drawing the foul from the latter that culminated in his and Chelsea's third goal of the afternoon.

It may've been the only time he was fouled during the encounter, but Hazard has now been fouled 71 times this season, the most in the Premier League. This allows Chelsea to exploit their WhoScored strength of 'attacking set pieces' with teams targeting him as their primary attacking threat and the weekend's victory showed why he's considered to be exactly that.

Ultimately, this was a game Chelsea deserved to win. On the back of the frustrating draw with West Ham in their previous home encounter, the hosts made their dominance count, having enjoyed 59% possession and 18 shots on goal to Newcastle's 12.

"I don't bet" were the words of Mourinho when told that Chelsea had been installed as the bookies' favourites to lift the title come May, but even the most experienced gambler would be foolish to bet against the Blues being crowned champions at the end of the campaign.

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