Chelsea had to battle for a 2-1 win away to Newcastle United in the Premier League.
Eden Hazard scored from the spot for Chelsea to open the scoring in the 76th minute before Joselu equalised.
Marcos Alonso’s shot was then deflected into his own net by DeAndre Yedlin three minutes from time.
Mateo Kovacic, on loan from Real Madrid, made his first start for the away side and here’s a closer look at his performance.
STATISTICS
Goals – 0
Assists – 0
Shots – 0
Shots on target – 0
Touches – 116
Passes – 104
Key passes – 3
Pass success – 92.3%
Dribbles – 0
Tackles – 2
30-SECOND REPORT
Kovacic replaced Ross Barkley on the left side of a central midfield three. The Croatia international initially had moments when he was caught by the intensity of the game and lost the ball in close quarters.
However, he grew into it and began punching balls through the channels. Kovacic was comfortable on the ball but wasn’t able to threaten Newcastle’s goal.
Mateo Kovacic (r)
GOT RIGHT
Passing – He did his reputation as an accomplished passer of the ball no harm at all. He attempted a total of 104 passes and completed 92.3 per cent of them. His three key passes were more than any other player on the pitch managed.
GOT WRONG
Shooting – Kovacic didn’t take a single shot all game. Given that he had 116 touches and operated primarily on the edge of Newcastle’s penalty area, that is disappointing. Even Antonio Rudiger had a pop from about 35 yards from goal.
Forward runs – With Chelsea attempting to break the deadlock, they needed to commit more numbers forward but Kovacic held back from forays into the box. He needs to provide a great goal-scoring threat, like Marek Hamsik did in the same position for Maurizio Sarri at Napoli.
VERDICT
There’s not too much Kovacic did wrong but he needs to offer a lot more in the role he’s been assigned. He picked up a booking for a late challenge as well. Can do better, a lot better.
RATING: 6/10
All statistics are compiled using whoscored.com