Eddie Howe's clean sheet mags win at Stamford Bridge for only the second time in Premier League history
Oh, I do love to be proved wrong sometimes. Newcastle United fought hard and won against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, picking up a massive three points in the context of the season.
As far as the actual game goes, there wasn't a great deal to report on beyond Anthony Gordon's goal and some questionable refereeing (as always), but in terms of what this means for Newcastle, that was one of the biggest wins of the season.
Newcastle's away form this season has been absolute unflushed toilet water, and their record at Stamford Bridge is even worse, so a 1-0 win was absolutely massive.
When you consider the players that weren't on the pitch at kick-off, the ones that I was crying about writing the team news update, the fact that the lads executed the game plan to perfection just takes the victory to another level.
Anthony Gordon scored with Newcastle's first shot of the game
Anthony Gordon got the only goal of the game after Joe Willock (who I owe a massive apology to for doubting him once again) latched on to an excellent long ball from Sven Botman before squaring it to Gordon to tap home.
The game plan was clear for Newcastle. Let Chelsea play, absorb the pressure and then hit them on the break. Gordon's goal on 18 minutes was actually the Magpies' first shot on target in the game. First shot at all, actually.
From then on, Newcastle dug in and defended brilliantly. They never pushed their luck when going on the counter, either, rarely giving the ball away in silly positions.
Newcastle will kick-off the derby next week above Sunderland in the table
Anthony Gordon was excellent today. He covered every blade of grass and put himself on the line for some big challenges. It was great seeing Tino Livramento and Lewis Hall on the field together for the bulk of the game, too.
I honestly have no negatives to say about any Newcastle player on the pitch today. Everyone did their job perfectly.
If only the same could be said for the referee who started the evening in the middle of Chelsea's huddle which was just the reddest of red flags. He failed to award Newcastle a penalty when Malick Thiaw was hauled to the ground, and then he somehow magically found eight minutes of stoppage time at the end of the game. Thankfully, it still wasn't enough.
That takes us back up above Sunderland ahead of the derby next week, so we're starting that game in the right place. But first ... Bring on Barcelona!
