By Xander Markham /
Eden Hazard fired Chelsea to the top of the Premier League table with three goals against an ineffectual Newcastle United. Chelsea barely had to be at their best to secure victory against a side who showed plenty of willingness but little final product. While small defensive lapses reinforced the importance of John Terry's organisational skills in absentia, missing his first Premier League match of the season with a muscle inflammation described as 'half an injury' by José Mourinho, Newcastle were guilty of wasting the few opportunities they managed to create. Both sides pushed forward early on, but it was the Blues who created the only chances of note. Eden Hazard gave a hint of things to come with a low strike after being played in by a lively Cesar Azpilicueta, and a Frank Lampard free-kick zipped wide of Tim Krul's right-hand post. Newcastle could only offer a wayward Moussa Sissoko strike from distance by way of response, while Lampard had another effort comfortably saved and Oscar saw a shot go narrowly wide. Chelsea were playing with the assurance of a settled side, and Newcastle's positivity, while commendable, allowed Hazard and Willian plenty of space to run into. The tide was heavily pushing in the Blues' direction, and there was an air of inevitability as Branislav Ivanovic played a low cross into the area for Eden Hazard to sweep home into the far post. Davide Santon saw a tepid shot smothered by Petr Cech immediately after kick-off and Moussa Sissoko saw a good chance saved, but any possibility of a Newcastle resurgence was blown away by a sensational counter-attack, which saw Hazard and Eto'o exchanging passes and the Cameroonian gracefully backheeling the ball for his teammate to gracefully dispatch. Chances for Eto'o and a skyward shot from Hazard saw out the first half with the Blues comfortably in charge. A punt forward from David Luiz almost humiliated Tim Krul, who slipped as he came out make the clearance and was grateful when the ball outpaced Oscar to go out for a goal kick. Nevertheless, the Newcastle keeper was to be beaten one more time in a cagey second half, with an over-aggressive shoulder barge on Samuel Eto'o by substitute Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa, on for the injured Mathieu Debuchy, resulting in Howard Webb awarding the penalty which allowed Eden Hazard to slide home his hat-trick. A flurry of late chances saw Sammy Ameobi waste a fine opportunity and Chelsea debutant Mohamed Salah drive a left-footed strike wide and force a decent late save from Krul after being played in by Oscar. The Egyptian enjoyed a rapturous reception from the Stamford Bridge faithful and showed plenty of promise in his pace and directness. Nemanja Matic, making his second Premier League start for the club after signing from Benfica last month, was once again an imposing presence in midfield and formed a promising partnership with the more attack-minded Frank Lampard. The Newcastle fans were in excellent voice all game, memorably labelling Jose Mourinho 'just a s**t Alan Pardew', but a fifth loss in seven games will give them serious cause for concern about their squad's lack of depth. Despite drawing praise from Pardew in his post-match press conference, loan striker Luuk de Jong looked starved of service throughout. For Chelsea, Mourinho joked in his press conference that it was 'time to kill the horse' regarding his earlier claim that his side were only a 'little horse' in the title race. With Arsenal and Man City stumbling, even he could no longer deny his side were looking strong heading into the season's final furlong.
Man Of The Match: Eden Hazard