Nicolas Jackson, Cole Palmer and Mykhailo Mudryk were all on target as the Blues saw off the visitors 3-2 in an entertaining contest under the Stamford Bridge lights.

Palmer played a pivotal role in the victory as it was his shot that Jackson diverted home for our first goal of the evening. He then lashed home from the edge of the box in the second half to re-establish a lead we later added to.

Pochettino was delighted with the England international’s impact - both tonight and across the season - but the Chelsea head coach believes the young forward can take another step forward.

'He is doing well. He arrived on the last day of the transfer window but it was easy for him to adapt to the team and the demands of the coaching staff. I think he is showing his quality and how he can link the game.

‘He is fantastic, he is getting more mature every day. He still needs to improve but is doing a very good job.'

Jackson got Chelsea's night off to the perfect start when he instinctively flicked Palmer's shot into the corner of the Newcastle goal in the sixth minute.

The Blues No.15 has been in good form since returning from the African Cup of Nations in January and Pochettino believes his team will reap the rewards of the forward being given time to adapt to English football.

‘Of course, he [Jackson] is improving. We need to understand the players when they are young and arrive from outside of England. They need time to learn the Premier League.

'They also need their teammates to perform, but he is doing really well. The effort is there, you see that with how he presses, and he has the quality. With more games and more experience, he is going to be more calm and more clinical in front of the goal.

'He has the capacity to be an offensive player that can score a lot of goals for Chelsea, we need to keep believing.'

The standout moment of the contest came courtesy of Mudryk, who danced through the Newcastle defence to score our crucial third goal in the 76th minute.

Asked whether it could be the catalyst for him to be given a run in the starting line-up, Pochettino replied: 'I think it was a very good goal. That is what we expect of a player who came from the bench – have an impact.

'He now has to compete with different players in the position he can play. It [whether he can become a starter] is more a question for him than for me.'

Although our three points were fully deserved, Pochettino is aware his team must still improve. While the goals have flown for the Blues in recent weeks, clean sheets are proving harder to find

‘Some offensive players are starting to score more,' Pochettino added. 'And that is important. They are feeling the confidence and feeling the net. But we still need to improve.

'We concede two goals that we should not concede in this way. We were so disappointed because we made two mistakes that should not happen at this level. But it is a moment to learn and improve from.'