Chelsea's best and worst players in morale-boosting victory over Newcastle

It's not often that a win which keeps you 11th in the Premier League table feels particularly important, but Chelsea's 3-2 triumph over Newcastle United was exactly that.

After weeks of bottlejob jibes undid any of the positivity that Chelsea had built before the Carabao Cup final, the Blues secured a much-needed three points which actually open the door for them to move back into the top half of the table. At this point, fans have to celebrate what they can get.

Here's a look back at Chelsea's best and worst performers in 90min's player ratings from the big victory.

Chelsea's best player vs Newcastle

Cole Palmer - 9/10

Cole Palmer bagged the assist for the opening goal and then found the back of the net himself in yet another dazzling individual display from Chelsea's soon-to-be Player of the Season.

With a combined 19 goals and assists in league action this season, Palmer now has as many goal contributions as a certain Jude Bellingham. If you're keeping that sort of company, you're doing something right.

Honourable mentions

Nicolas Jackson - 8/10

Nicolas Jackson is on track to better Didier Drogba's goal return from his first season at Chelsea, with his delightful flick six minutes in taking his tally to nine for the campaign.

That goal set the tone for a thoroughly impressive performance from Jackson, who battled for every loose ball, drove at Newcastle's defence with intensity and caused countless problems for those trying to mark him.

Mykhailo Mudryk - 8/10

Mykhailo Mudryk has been on the receiving end of a whole lot of criticism since his move to Chelsea last year, so it's only fair we give the Ukrainian some credit for what was undoubtedly an impressive showing off the bench here.

Clearly desperate to flex his quality running at opponents, Mudryk felt like a man possessed at times as he spent 20 relentless minutes hounding Newcastle's defence. He thoroughly deserved his goal, which was a real highlight of the game.

Chelsea's worst player vs Newcastle

Raheem Sterling - 5/10

A noticeable weak link in Chelsea's attack, veteran forward Raheem Sterling was replaced by Mudryk after a frustrating 70 minutes which left fans wanting more.

Sterling once again found himself in a two-on-one attack in the second half but, once again, took too long on the ball and killed the chance when he could have slotted in Palmer for a simple tap-in.

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