Chelsea vs. Newcastle United: Score, Grades, Twitter Reaction and Analysis

Fans of Chelsea should be buzzing after the team posted a convincing 2-0 win over Newcastle.

Chelsea got off to a quick start, applying pressure right away against a Newcastle club that just seemed to be out-manned from the start. 

Eden Hazard got Chelsea on the board first by scoring on a penalty kick set up by a penalty against Fernando Torres. The goal was Hazard's first as a member of the club.

Things wouldn't get any better for Newcastle in the first half, as Hazard would set up Torres for a goal in stoppage time to make the score 2-0 going into halftime.

The second half wouldn't see as much scoring, as Chelsea elected to back off the pressure and protect the 2-0 lead in a steady downpour of rain. Newcastle were able to salvage some promising moments in the latter half, but were unable to capitalize. 

Tweets of the Day

The official Twitter of the Premier League tweeted out a brief injury report prior to the match, reminding everyone that Chelsea would be without John Terry and Frank Lampard, while Newcastle would miss Cheik Tiote:

Chelsea are without captain John Terry and Frank Lampard, while Newcastle hand a first #BPL start to Vurnon Anita as Cheik Tiote is injured.

— Premier League (@premierleague) August 25, 2012

Eden Hazard came up with the first goal for Chelsea on a penalty kick set up Torres. As SportsExpress pointed out, it was Hazard's first goal in English football:

Eden Hazard converts a penalty to give Chelsea the lead at Stanford Bridge. It's his first goal in English football. Chelsea 1-0 Newcastle.

— SPORTS EXPRESS (@SportsExpressNG) August 25, 2012

Miguel Delaney of ESPN.com astutely pointed out Chelsea's advantage in pushing the pace, noting that Newcastle struggled to keep up early on:

Newcastle have struggled with Chelsea's pace I think. A flurry any time Chelsea get forward.

— Miguel Delaney (@MiguelDelaney) August 25, 2012

Stats.com tweeted out an interesting fact after Torres' first-half stoppage time goal. It marked only the second time that Torres has scored goals in back-to-back matches for Chelsea:

Fernando Torres has scored in back to back matches for only the second time as a Chelsea player. #EPL #CHENEW

— STATS Football (@STATS_Football) August 25, 2012

Grades for Key Players

Fernando Torres: A+

Torres established himself as a threat from the very beginning of the match and was at the focal point of nearly every Chelsea threat. It was his aggressiveness that set up the Hazard penalty kick that put Chelsea on the board.

His goal two minutes into stoppage time in the first half was a thing of beauty, and he stole the show throughout the game.

Eden Hazard: A

Hazard continues to show that he was a huge addition for his new club. He had a nice chemistry with Torres on the attack, and he also proved to be clutch, coming up big on the penalty kick that Torres set up to score Chelsea's first goal.

Hazard returned the favor by giving Torres the assist on his goal to bring his total to six already in this young season.

Hazard and Torres established themselves as a duo that could do damage throughout the season.

Papiss Cisse: C

Coming into this match, it was expected that Cisse would need to step up for Newcastle to put together a good showing. He didn't deliver. 

Cisse had some opportunities to put the ball in the net on a few occasions, but he came up short every time.

With so few promising possessions, Cisse couldn't afford to miss the mark very often here, so it's tough to grade him too harshly.

What's Next?

Chelsea will look to keep the momentum alive against Atletico Madrid on August 31 in UEFA Champions Super Cup action.

Newcastle must be ready to bounce back when they take on Aston Villa September 2.