MY ACCOUNT
Jorginho hailed Chelsea’s desire to fight until the end after Kai Havertz’s last-gasp winner brought the curtain down on a turbulent week for Thomas Tuchel’s side.
A moment of magic from Havertz a minute from time yesterday finally broke Newcastle’s stubborn resistance and secured a fifth successive Premier League win for the Blues.
And Jorginho, who released the German for the only goal of the game at Stamford Bridge, was delighted with the team’s attitude amid ongoing off-field speculation about the club’s future.
He said: “I thought we believed until the end and that is our group, it is our mentality. That is what we have been showing all the time now.
“We keep focused, work hard and fight and push until the end. We deserved the win. It was a great result, atmosphere and great for the fans.”
Speaking to Chelsea’s official website, the 30-year-old Italian added: “It is a good challenge to be honest because we’re all human and when there’s so much going around it is not easy.
“We try to isolate sometimes, we try to focus on what we need to do because we are professional.
“As you could see, we know our targets and we know what we’re here for. We’re fighting for that.”
Chelsea had largely been frustrated throughout the game by Eddie Howe’s resurgent Toon, who stopped the hosts from carving out any clear-cut opportunities.
Having already thrown Mateo Kovacic and Romelu Lukaku into action from the bench, Tuchel summoned Christian Pulisic with 12 minutes to play.
With the lively American and Hakim Ziyech in the wing-back roles, Chelsea began to stretch Newcastle’s defence.
And they made the breakthrough when Jorginho sent a superb ball over the top for Havetz to bring down with one sublime touch before poking beyond Martin Dubravka.
Jorginho, captain for the day in the absence of Cesar Azpilicueta, said: “Kai is an amazing player and guy who can make the difference for us.
“We believe in him because you can see the quality he has and the potential that is there.
“He is a key player for this team and can make the difference, like we saw.”
Chelsea head to Lille on Wednesday for the second leg of their Champions League last-16 tie with the advantage after a relatively comfortable 2-0 win at the Bridge last month.
And Tuchel’s side will be on their travels once again on Saturday when they tackle Middlesbrough in the FA Cup quarter-finals.
