The first of two matches against Newcastle in the space of four days arrived in the Premier League at Stamford Bridge on Sunday afternoon.

Goals in either half from Nicolas Jackson and Palmer were enough to take the three points, but we didn’t have things all our own way in a tough fixture, as the visitors equalised before half-time and came close to doing so again during a spell of sustained pressure at the end.

However, our defence stood firm to ensure Robert Sanchez remained relatively untroubled despite that heavy pressure, with Caicedo and captain Reece James in particular making vital interventions to deny Newcastle a late goal.

‘I am so happy for the result and the performance also,’ said Caicedo, whose impressive form this season continued in his 10th start of 2024/25, more than any other Chelsea player.

‘It was a good performance and we are happy now. They tried to equalise late in the game and for sure their team was [becoming] stronger at the end [with the pressure], but we remained strong, defended really well and won the game.’

Palmer, scorer of the winning goal, had also highlighted the role of Caicedo and our backline in seeing out the game for the victory in those difficult closing stages.

‘The defenders today were top, making last-minute clearances, last-ditch tackles and being strong, because we know how physical they are with Joelinton, [Alexander] Isak, [Sandro] Tonali and others. So the defenders were very good today,’ said Cole.

The favour was returned by our Ecuadorian midfielder, who knows how much Palmer brings to the team after another Player of the Match performance by the No.20, following his winning goal and brilliant pass to launch the attack which provided our first.

‘Cole is so important for us,’ added Caicedo. ‘He’s a great player, we know that, everybody knows that. We are happy to have him here and it’s nice to be playing next to him.’

He may get the opportunity to line up alongside Palmer against Newcastle again soon, as we meet the Magpies for a second time at St James’ Park on Wednesday evening. However, it remains to be seen if the duo will start or if Enzo Maresca will rotate his side to keep them fresh for a tricky run of Premier League fixtures and give others a chance in that Carabao Cup fourth-round tie.