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An Arsenal collapse at Anfield set the stage for a fantastic day for Chelsea, and Jose Mourinho's side took full advantage. Newcastle looked better than most would have expected, but Eden Hazard made sure that no performance would have been good enough on Saturday.
Two brilliant first half strikes had Chelsea looking comfortable at the break, rightfully so given their recent defensive form. The only burning question involving the match when the second half kicked off involved just how long Mohamed Salah's inevitable Chelsea debut would be.
After Samuel Eto'o was dragged down in the box on a corner attempt, Frank Lampard stepped aside to allow Hazard to take the kick. Just like that, it was 3-0 Chelsea, with Hazard completing his hat trick.
Salah got his debut with just over 10 minutes to play, coming on for Willian in the 78th minute. Despite having a couple of excellent chances on the counter-attack, that debut finished without a goal. It was fun though, and his movement was generally quite good.
Here are a few thoughts while we all celebrate being back atop the Premier League table, following Arsenal's loss and Manchester City's draw:
- We all owe Brendan Rodgers a big thank you, for destroying Arsenal's GD. It's just too bad they missed enough easy chances to prevent them putting a double-digit total past Arsene Wenger's side.
- Having some semblance of quality depth in the midfield is fun, isn't it? A rested Ramires should be fun to watch down the stretch. Bringing back Nemanja Matic is starting to look like a brilliant idea.
- Eden Hazard is really good at this football thing.
- You have to love Frank Lampard allowing Hazard to take that penalty instead of padding his Chelsea-record total. Well played, Frank.
- Salah certainly showed some nerves today, hopefully having his debut out of the way will help alleviate those in the future.
