Football news - Chelsea go third as Marcos Alonso goal downs Newcastle

Marcos Alonso scored a late goal to give Chelsea a hard-fought 1-0 home win over Newcastle United to make it five wins on the spin.

The Magpies, unchanged from the side that beat Manchester United a fortnight ago, went with a 5-4-1 which worked well in stifling the home side's attacking threat.

Frank Lampard's side were limited to few chances in the first half with the best of them falling to Mason Mount whose shot was well saved while Willian put a header wide.

The Blues, who had Ross Barkley limp off due to a suspected thigh injury, carved out more opportunities in the second half with Tammy Abraham crashing a header against the bar before nodding over from close range minutes later.

Lampard brought on Christian Pulisic in the closing stages and he came close to scoring his first goal for the club but was denied by a fine save by Martin Dubravka.

And they finally broke the deadlock after 74 minutes when Pulisic found Callum Hudson Odoi, the hosts' best player on the day, who teed up Alonso to score from a tight angle.

Steve Bruce's side carved out few chances of note but will feel hard done by having defended well for most of the game while for Chelsea, a priceless clean sheet and three points to move into third place in the table.

The American was the difference after coming on in the second half - having a helping hand in the goal, coming close to scoring and setting up Abraham, who was denied by brilliant last-ditch defending. With Barkley and N'Golo Kante injured, it may be the former Dortmund playmaker's time to shine.

Fabian Schar (Newcastle): Brilliant backs to the wall defending from the Magpies. Alongside Ciaran Clark, Schar was solid in his aerial duals and positioning. He always seemed to be in the right place at the right time and was unfortunate to be on the losing side.

CHELSEA: Kepa 5, Azpilcueta 5, Tomori 5, Zouma 5, Alonso 6, Jorginho 5, Barkley 5, Willian 7, Mount 6, Hudson-Odoi 8, Abraham 7. Subs: Kovacic 5, Pulisic 7, James n/a.

NEWCASTLE UNITED: Dubravka 8, Yedlin 8, Schar 9, Lascelles 8, Clark 9, Wilems 7, S Longstaff 6, M Longstaff 6, Saint-Maximin 7, Almiron 4, Joelinton 5. Subs: Carroll 5, Atsu n/a, Gayle n/a.

19' - GOOD SAVE! Hudson-Odoi feeds Mount, who turns and shoots towards goal and its well parried by the keeper.

55' - WOODWORK! Pinpoint cross from Willian and Abraham crashes a header against the top of the crossbar, that is the closest Chelsea have come.

65' - CHANCE! Abraham fires a header about a foot over the bar from Willian's corner, he should have found the target from there.

67' - GOOD SAVE! Abraham's shot is deflected into the path of Pulisic, it is slightly behind him and his shot is parried by Dubravka.

73' - GOAL FOR CHELSEA! Hudson-Odoi tees up Alonso whose shot from an angle finally beats the keeper.

Chelsea have won their past eight meetings against Newcastle.

The Blues named five English players in their starting XI for a Premier League match (Tomori, Barkley, Mount, Hudson-Odoi, Abraham) for the first time since February 2013, which was also against Newcastle.