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FULL TIME: Chelsea lose 3-0.
82min: Pedro on for Hazard, who was particularly useless.
77min: Morata, Willian ON, Giroud, Barkley OFF as Conte switches to 3-4-3. Game’s pretty much done and dusted however.
69min: Chelsea work a decent attack, but Barkley and Moses are crowded out in the penalty area. Giroud then has a chance go over the bar as Moses works a cross.
64min: Newcastle get another one after some laughable set piece defending. Newcastle 3-0 Chelsea.
61min: Barkley misses a sitter after a great counter with Hazard.
59min: Perez scores with a lucky flick on Shelvey’s long-range effort. Newcastle 2-0 Chelsea.
55min: Solanke scores his first goal for Liverpool. 3-0 there, not that it matters though Chelsea have finally started playing. Barkley’s low cross is saved.
52min: Giroud with Chelsea’s first shot and it draws a tremendous save from Dubravka.
47min: Back underway; Hazard finally gets on the ball, but crosses straight into Lascelles private parts. Ouch. Joselu replaces Gayle meanwhile in a rather oddly timed sub for Newcastle.
45+2min: Perez comes close to doubling Newcastle’s advantage. And then thankfully, Atkinson brings the first-half to a close. Very poor from Chelsea.
44min: Chelsea win a corner! There’s no stopping us now. Emerson hits it into the first man. Fitting.
40min: Still nothing from Chelsea.
36min: Atkinson waves off a penalty claim as Azpilicueta and Perez tussle. Benitez not happy, but there was not much in it.
33min: Chelsea settle in a bit and a great ball from Azpilicueta finds Barkley making a great run into the box. He can’t find Giroud and Newcastle clear. Better from Chelsea.
29min: A decent move from Chelsea (Hazard to Moses to decent cross) is repelled and Newcastle build again.
27min: Liverpool take the lead against Brighton. That’s academical at this point as Courtois makes another save.
23min: Newcastle take the lead, as Gayle is first to the rebound. Chelsea ball-watching. Newcastle 1-0 Chelsea.
21min: Courtois saves an own goal from Kanté from a Ritchie cross. Kanté then loses the ball to gift Diame a shot. Wide. Rare sight that, from Kanté.
18min: Chelsea finally string something together, with Bakayoko winning the ball and then Giroud knocking it down for Barkley. Newcastle clear for a throw-in.
15min: A bit of Chelsea possession ends in a Kanté handball and without much threat. Chelsea fans make themselves heard over the loud home crowd.
11min: Newcastle keep up the pressure. Courtois saves easily from Diame.
9min: Teams trade possessions before Shelvey stings Courtois’ palms.
5min: Kanté tries to spring Hazard on the counter but Yedlin intercepts, after Chelsea clear a Newcastle free kick.
KICK-OFF: Morata gets us underway in the new Blue shirts. Here we go!
Welcome to Chelsea’s 1000th Premier League match, and the final match of the 2017-18 Premier League season! (The FA Cup final follows next weekend, and then we break for the World Cup and Silly Season.)
If Chelsea win and Liverpool lose (at home to Brighton), we’re in the Champions League. Otherwise we’re in the Europa League next season.
COME ON, CHELSEA!
Newcastle United starting XI:
Dubravka | Yedin, Lascelles (c), Lejeune, Dummett, Ritchie, Shelvey, Diame, Murphy, Perez, Gayle
Substitutes from: Darlow, Manquillo, Haidara, Gamez, Hayden, Merino, Joselu
Chelsea starting lineup (3-5-1-1):
Courtois | Cahill (c), Christensen, Azpilicueta | Emerson, Bakayoko, Kanté, Barkley, Moses | Hazard | Giroud
Substitutes from: Caballero, Rüdiger, Alonso, Fàbregas, Willian, Pedro, Morata
Back to the three-man midfield, as many had preferred, but with a surprise start for Ross Barkley instead of Cesc Fàbregas. Interesting! Otherwise, mostly as expected, including the switch at left back from Alonso, who played 180 minutes in the last seven days, to Emerson.
Date / Time: Sunday, May 13th, 2018, 15:00 BST; 10:00am EDT; 7:30 pm IST (next day).
Venue: St. James’ Park, Newcastle upon Tyne, England.
Referee: Martin Atkinson
On TV: Sky Sports Premier League (UK); NBCSN (USA); none (India); elsewhere.
Streaming online: Sky Go (UK); NBC Sports Live (USA); Hotstar (India)
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