At Stamford Bridge, Chelsea defeated Newcastle 2-1 thanks to goals from Nicolas Jackson and Cole Palmer, accelerating their incredible comeback under Enzo Maresca.

Palmer’s goal, which was expertly hammered in from the edge of the box in the second half, was his 19th goal in 15 Premier League home games and was a fitting reward for a composed, self-assured performance from a team that kept looking like a top-four contender.

Jackson had earlier given Chelsea the lead before Alexander Isak tapped in to tie the score for Eddie Howe’s visitors.

And when Newcastle’s winless league record reached five games, the Sweden international wasted a great opportunity to steal a point in the second half when, after rounding goalkeeper Robert Sanchez, he appeared unable to decide whether to shoot or pass.

However, Jackson, who has become more and more like the striker Chelsea has been lacking, was the standout attacker on show. After four minutes, a clever spin and pass beat Dan Burn and released Palmer, whose finish off the post was disallowed by VAR for a slight offside. He could have had a magnificent assist.

But Jackson would have his chance, and with his sixth goal of the year, he gave Chelsea the lead. A fantastic pass was curled in behind Tino Livramento for Neto to chase after Palmer grabbed it deep in his own half. In an attempt to intercept, Fabian Schar went to ground; however, this gamble paid off as Neto spirited the ball away and crossed low for Jackson to sweep home.

Maresca made the unexpected choice to start Reece James at left-back for the first time in nearly a year, and the captain’s focus faltered, allowing Newcastle to equalize.

The ball was played wide by Bruno Guimaraes to Livramento, who then fed Harvey Barnes. Lewis Hall, a former Chelsea defender, was overlapping outside of him. James missed his cross as it sailed over, leaving Isak free to bounce the ball in from a yard away.