By John Essien
Chelsea made it six straight wins in all competitions, as second-half brace from Reece James and a Jorginho’s penalty sealed a convincing 3-0 victory over Newcastle at St James’s Park on Saturday.
The win moved them up to 25 points from ten matches, while it left Newcastle languishing in the relegation zone.
Tuchel made three changes as Cesar Azpilicueta, N’Golo Kante and Hakim Ziyech returned to the starting lineup. He was without last week’s hat-trick hero, Mason Mount, due to illness. Kai Havertz started up front as Timo Werner and Romelu Lukaku remain out through injury.
The Blues are now three points clear at the top of the table after Liverpool were held to a 2-2 draw at home against Brighton.
Jurgen Klopp’s side looked set for victory when Jordan Henderson struck after just four minutes to put the home team ahead.
Sadio Mane doubled the lead 20 minutes later, and it appeared they were cruising to another Anfield win.
However, Enock Mwepu grabbed the first for Graham Potter’s men four minutes before the end of the first half to give them hope.
Leandro Trossard then levelled just after the hour mark to record a surprise draw for Brighton.
In the other fixture, 10-man Manchester City lost ground on title rivals Chelsea and Liverpool, as Wilfried Zaha played a starring role as Crystal Palace stunned the Etihad Stadium.
The former Manchester United man grabbed an early opener, before teeing up Conor Gallagher for a late second as City fell to a first home Premier League defeat of the season
