Thomas Tuchel silences title talk following Chelsea victory over Newcastle

Thomas Tuchel called for calm over any talk of a potential title race after Chelsea eased to a 3-0 victory over Newcastle United on Saturday, while Manchester City and Liverpool both dropped points.

A second half brace from Reece James, followed up by a Jorginho penalty put the Blues in cruise control at St James' Park, and their three points were made all the sweeter by their closest rivals suffering shock slip-ups.

But Tuchel refused to be drawn into discussing the fortunes of Liverpool and Man City after Chelsea's own victory over Newcastle, asking for 'calm,' while insisting that he and his players 'are not celebrating' results elsewhere.

"Calm down! It is like this, if you think we are inside celebrating other results, it is not like this.

"We congratulated the team for the effort they put in and the result. There is a long way to go. I don't feel comfortable celebrating other results. What goes around comes around. We did a good match, a great result."

Tuchel was full of praise for his marauding wing-backs too, after James scored twice against the Magpies. His goals follow a recent pattern in Chelsea's play, which has seen the likes of Ben Chilwell, Marcos Alonso and Cesar Azpilicueta all shine in the final third.

"If it was so easy we would just demand it every three days! In general we rely on our wing-backs to arrive in the box. Chilly was decisive in the last matches. Azpi, Marcos were in earlier matches. 

"Today it was Reecey, two brilliant finishes to secure the victory. It's not easy but when you play as wing-backs it is necessary to be dangerous from your positions."

On the whole, the Chelsea boss was delighted with the 'super performance' that his players produced on Saturday, against an initially stubborn Newcastle. The German highlighted their work off the ball as the 'key' to the victory.

"We protected ourselves in close distance and protect us against counter-attacks. Then, we increased risks and were more dangerous with Hakim and Kai playing closer together and collecting second balls. The pressure was growing. It is not the football match where you need a goal to set things clear and gain freedom.

"It is sometimes dangerous to not fall asleep, to not confuse being patient with being slow. I am super happy with the performance off the ball, we were brilliant all match. Defending all the first and long balls, the second and third balls, to collect them. If you have so much ball possession, to close the spaces. That was the key. I think we were brilliant off the ball today."

That victory sends Chelsea top of the Premier League table, three points ahead of nearest rivals Liverpool.