Player ratings: Chelsea secure important victory over Newcastle, easing pressure on Pochettino

Chelsea regained their winning form with a 3-2 home victory over Newcastle United on Monday night FROM STAMFORD BRIDGE.

Stamford Bridge saw Chelsea get back within a point of achieving a spot in the top half of the Premier League again, following their sweeping win in the closing of the 28th gameweek.

Eddie Howe's team, despite having fairly decent periods of play before and after half-time, weren't successful in fully utilizing their momentum. The guests weren't able to diminish Chelsea's two-goal lead to just one until the dying minutes of the game.

Chelsea opened the scoring within the first six minutes. A clearance from Sven Botman landed conveniently at the feet of Cole Palmer just outside the penalty box. Nicolas Jackson skillfully redirected Palmer's relatively harmless effort beyond a baffled Martin Dubravka to chalk up the first point for the Blues.

Newcastle only managed to get a legitimate scoring opportunity after 30 minutes of play had passed. Following a long free-kick, the Blues struggled to regain control of the ball, and Anthony Gordon's attempted shot was thwarted by Marc Cucurella's defensive prowess.

An equalizing opportunity presented itself to the visitors as Miguel Almiron's low cross found Joe Willock in the six-yard box. However, Cucurella's deft maneuvering led to Willock sending the ball sailing over the crossbar. Just before half-time, Bruno Guimaraes set the stage for Newcastle's equalizer.

Palmer set up Jackson with a counter-strike opportunity that could've put Chelsea back in the lead. After making Botman tumble, Jackson scored the goal, but it was later ruled out due to an offside call.

Post the break, despite facing some pressure, Chelsea grabbed the lead once again. A precise pass from Enzo Fernandez undid Newcastle's defense, setting up a splendid goal with Palmer finding the back of the net.

Right after kick-off, Chelsea narrowly missed a chance to score their third as Raheem Sterling broke off into open space, thanks in part to Jackson's deft flick. Unfortunately, Sterling froze in the decisive moment, allowing Newcastle's Dan Burn to recover and clear the ball off the line.

15 minutes before the final whistle, Chelsea added another spectacular goal. Nicolas Jackson launched a breakneck counterattack, later passing on to Gallagher. The ball was intercepted by Mykhailo Mudryk who masterfully evaded Fabian Schar, rounded Dubravka, and scored in an unguarded net.

A last-minute rocket shot from Jacob Murphy set the Chelsea camp on edge as the ball blasted into Petrovic's net.

As the clock ticked past the 90 minutes, Chelsea managed to hold on, overcoming over six minutes of injury time to secure a much-needed victory.