In what proved to be a hard-fought 90 minutes, we went ahead through Nicolas Jackson after a flowing move that included a wonderful, defence-opening Cole Palmer pass and a pinpoint Pedro Neto cross.

Alexander Isak pulled Newcastle level by the break, just after the half-hour mark, but a swift response following the interval saw Palmer fire the eventual match-winner beyond visiting goalkeeper Nick Pope.

Maresca admitted in his post-match press conference that there were aspects of Chelsea's display that could have been improved, yet he was pleased with his side's effort and output with and without the ball at Stamford Bridge.

He said: 'I am very happy with the performance today because in some moments on the ball, we were unbelievable. There were some good combinations and the way we prepared the game was exactly there. Off the ball, they fought together and showed they deserved to win. This is important.’

One notable tweak Maresca made to his side was to use captain Reece James, who completed 90 minutes, at left-back.

'We tried to do something different,' Maresca explained. 'We moved Reece to the left side and Cole for the first time this season into the left pocket. The reason was to try to attack down that side and a bigger reason was to have Malo [Gusto] in the right pocket. In the end, it worked very well.’

While those in Blue on the pitch worked hard, there was another energetic display on the touchline from the Chelsea head coach. Part of the reason for that, Maresca outlined after our victory, was the need to urge for control in what was a fast-paced contest.

‘The problem is if you attack quick, you are going to concede a quick attack and it’s not our idea, it’s not our football,' he said. 'Today with Pedro on one side, Noni the other, Cole in the pocket, Malo in the pocket, and Nico [Jackson] there, they are also good at making passes and arriving in the last third to create and score goals.’

Maresca continued: 'This kind of game is a game that before you attack, you need to make 15 or 20 passes. If you want to attack with two passes, it’s a long distance and they can recover the ball and create and cause problems. So the reason I was shouting "calm, calm, calm, make passes" is because if you make it an up-and-down game, they destroy everything.'

Throughout this season, Maresca has made it clear what he expects from those on the pitch –  that extends to the instructions issued to his goalkeeper. Today at Stamford Bridge, that was Robert Sanchez.

‘It’s football and I’m the guy who asks Robbie to do that [playing out from the back]. Robbie is going to do that because the moment he stops, he isn’t going to play. If he makes a mistake, it’s not Robbie’s problem, it’s my problem, my mistake, because I ask that of him.

'I am happy with how Robbie is playing and building from the back. All the goal kicks we had where he passed to Pedro and Noni that kind of ball gave us a chance to attack. Sometimes you make a mistake but it’s not going to change the way we play.’