Newcastle United became the first team to beat Chelsea this season after a brilliant 2-1 victory at St James’s Park on Saturday. Defender Fabricio Coloccini was one of the best players on the evening, as he kept Diego Costa quiet throughout the 90 minutes.
Even though Newcastle endured some nervous moments in the final few minutes after Didier Drogba pulled one back for Chelsea, they held on for a famous victory. The victory continues the impressive run of form that Newcastle have enjoyed for the last few months. Their current status seems a far cry from the poor start to the season.
Coloccini missed the last few matches due to an injury. He returned back to the Newcastle team, which had not won in the last two matches against Burnley and West Ham United, and his return coincided with a stubborn defensive performance. The crowd, which had been calling for Alan Pardew to be sacked only a few months ago, were at their best on Saturday and Coloccini paid tribute to the support by saying that they played a huge role in the victory. Newcastle have now reignited the title race, as Manchester City have closed the gap to Chelsea.
Jose Mourinho’s wait for league victory at St James’s Park continues as a result of this defeat.“The crowd have stuck with us.They have been with us through the bad times.We have to say thank you for that.They are always behind us during bad times though.Now there are some good times for them.They enjoyed the win the same way as us.I am very proud as captain.OK, people might say we didn’t play well because we didn’t have the ball in the first half,” said Coloccini. Newcastle travel to the Emirates stadium to take on Arsenal next week.