It took 65 minutes of toil on Tyneside before we finally registered an advantage on the scoreboard, though once the first of Reece James’s rockets landed in the back of the Newcastle net, there was really never any doubt that Thomas Tuchel’s men were going to take the points back home from the north-east.

James quickly added a second before Kai Havertz won a late penalty and Jorginho converted from 12 yards. With Liverpool and Manchester City both dropping points elsewhere in the Saturday 3pm kick-offs, the result extended our lead at the top of the table to three points.

James’s park

What a week it has been for the 21-year-old, following a goal seven days previously in our 7-0 rout of Norwich City and the winning shoot-out spot-kick against Southampton in the Carabao Cup in midweek.

James is now our top scorer in the Premier League this term with four and there really are no truer strikers of a football than the young Londoner, who demonstrated that incredible technique with his left then his right foot in netting a first senior brace.

As his touch map above shows, the majority of his 86 touches in the game came in the Newcastle half, with Tuchel urging his wing-backs to consistently contribute in the final third prior to the match.

Of the game’s starters, only Edou Mendy finished with a higher pass completion rate than the England international’s 95 per cent, while his three shots on target were as many as the rest of the Chelsea team combined.

In all competitions, James has now been involved in seven goals this season (four goals, three assists), more than any team-mate. After two goals in his first 61 Premier League appearances, he now has three in his last two, another indication that he is mastering the art of playing as a wing-back.

Possession power

Chelsea’s impressive dominance of possession in this game of 79 per cent was our highest registered under Tuchel and our best in the Premier League since August 2018, also away at Newcastle in a 2-1 victory.

Part of the reason for that was our high pressing off the ball paying dividends in retrieving possession quickly, an aspect of the performance that was praised by Tuchel afterwards. This is also borne out by a look at our average positions in the game, which actually shows Callum Hudson-Odoi as our most advanced attacker on the day.

Unsurprisingly, Havertz dropped deeper from his central striking role to connect the play, while the wing-backs kept the width and Hakim Ziyech operated more as an inside-right forward cutting infield.

Our three centre-backs – Andreas Christensen, Thiago Silva and Toni Rudiger – accounted for a massive 34.5 per cent of the possession share, while the Chelsea starter with the least touches in the game (Ziyech with 45) registered more than the Newcastle outfielder with the most (Sean Longstaff with 37).

Yet despite that familiarity with the ball in the first half, we actually failed to have a shot on target as the Toon Army manned the barricades diligently. That echoed our win at Tottenham earlier in the season, the only other time this campaign when we have failed to register a shot on target in the first half of a Premier League away game. Just like in N17, the Blues came out with renewed purpose and came away with a 3-0 victory.

More away day joy

Chelsea have now won 10 of our 14 Premier League away games under Tuchel, claiming 33 points from 42 available. We are also yet to concede an away goal in the league from open play, with Mo Salah’s penalty at Anfield the solitary strike against in five games.

That record didn’t look under much threat against the Magpies, with Mendy claiming his 32nd clean sheet for the club. His one save of the game, from Javier Manquilo, took his save percentage in the Premier League this term to 96.3 per cent. Only two other keepers have totals above 80 per cent.

This was also the first time we have won three in a row on the road while keeping a clean sheet since November 2016, and the first time since February we’ve won four consecutive league games.

Spot-kick specialist strikes again

After his specialist spot-kick skills were deemed unnecessary for our midweek win over Southampton, Jorginho was understandably eager to get back to business from 12 yards when the visitors were awarded a penalty with 10 minutes remaining.

In converting with his usual confidence and composure, the Italian became the first player in Premier League history to have 10 consecutive goals in the competition come from the penalty spot.

Intriguingly, had he passed responsibility to James for a chance to notch his third of the game, the youngster may well have become the first defender to notch a Premier League hat-trick ever.