Head coach Mauricio Pochettino has suggested that his Chelsea players deserve credit for the improvements that have been made at Stamford Bridge this season.
The Blues went into Monday's Premier League fixture against Newcastle knowing that they would remain in 11th position in the standings regardless of whether they defeated the Magpies.
Nevertheless, Chelsea were able to come through by a 3-2 scoreline in West London as Nicolas Jackson, Cole Palmer and Mykhaylo Mudryk all got on the scoresheet.
Newcastle made it 1-1 through Alexander Isak before half time and a superb Jacob Murphy strike forced Chelsea to negotiate a nervy six minutes of added-on time.
However, Pochettino's side were able to post an important three points for their fifth home victory in six outings in the top flight.
That kind of form is in sharp contrast to their efforts at Stamford Bridge under several different managers in 2022-23, with Chelsea collecting 25 points from 19 games during that campaign in comparison to 21 points coming from 13 fixtures this time around.
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Although Pochettino has stated that he was disappointed with the two strikes - impressive individual goals - that Chelsea conceded, he hints that his players warranted more praise for their recent results on familiar territory.
Speaking to Match of the Day, Pochettino said: "Football, sometimes you enjoy and sometimes you suffer. We played a very good team with amazing players, it was really tough. We made the victory, but we keep looking forward and moving forward - the most important is the three points.
"It is important for offensive players to feel the confidence and we know we can win games scoring goals, but a little disappointed the way we conceded with two mistakes that should never happen, but that is how we become more mature - we need to keep pushing."
The Argentine added: "I cannot do anything of the frustration of last season, last season was a nightmare to win a game here [Stamford Bridge] now we are winning games and we are solid.
"We are building something different and we need to accept it. Today the fans were good, we need to keep moving and being strong."
Chelsea will attempt to go into the March international break on a high when they play host to Leicester City in the FA Cup quarter-finals on Sunday afternoon.
Darren Plant
