Chelsea must build on Newcastle win - Pochettino
Mauricio Pochettino warned there will be more problems for Chelsea if they fail to build on their 3-2 victory over Newcastle at Stamford Bridge as he praised the impact of match-winning substitute Mykhailo Mudryk.
The Ukrainian came off the bench to score with a superb individual goal to make it 3-1 in the 76th minute, pelting on to the ball at full tilt before tricking his way beyond a dumbfounded Fabian Schar and nipping round Martin Dubravka to finish.
"It was a very good goal and that is what we expect from a player from the bench – impact," said Pochettino. "Then it is about competing with different players in his position. Then he will deserve to (start)."
The goal helped settle a finely balanced game, the kind that has so often slipped away from Chelsea under Pochettino.
They had already allowed an advantage to get away from them on the stroke of half-time.
Leading 1-0, Chelsea made two errors to hand Newcastle a way back into the match. First, the otherwise impressive Malo Gusto was caught trying to juggle the ball in midfield, then Trevoh Chalobah rushed up from central defence to assist and left a gaping hole into which Alexander Isak darted and rifled the visitors level.
Earlier, Nicolas Jackson had given his team a deserved sixth-minute lead, applying the deftest touch with his heel to Cole Palmer's strike, getting just enough contact to divert it out of the reach of Dubravka and into the bottom corner.
Palmer, brilliant again on the right of a forward three, scored a 13th goal of his debut Chelsea season early in the second half.
Enzo Fernandez spotted the Blues’ top-scorer in space and gave the ball to him with his back to goal. With his first touch Palmer turned and with his second he lashed a shot inside the near